


Midnight Rose Court

by socky_lili (spooky_lilith)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Dragon!Yang, Early Modern Era, F/F, Magic, Medieval Politicking, Multishipping, Plot With Porn, Polyamory, Ships to be Tagged, Trans Blake Belladonna, Trans Female Character, Trans Female Ruby Rose (RWBY), Vampire!Weiss, Werewolf!Ruby, polypile
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:41:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27837739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spooky_lilith/pseuds/socky_lili
Summary: The Kingdom of Vale, having functioned as a Kingdom without a Monarch for the better part of a decade now, has found and crowned Queen of Vale, the lost heiress to the Throne of Rose, thought to be lost to a Grimm outbreak fourteen years prior. The reign of Queen Ruby Rose has begun.New and inexperienced to the throne, she was unaware of the greatest challenge yet to come; soon, her royal court would soon consist entirely of pretty girls, she herself being a raging sapphic.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ilia Amitola/Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 74
Kudos: 160





	1. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (1/10, Ruby)

**Author's Note:**

> A reworking of a certain passion project of mine I tried out a year ago. Not expecting a large audience for this. If this fic gets a handful of folks interested, then I’ll keep writing. This is mostly just a personal project I’m personally really invested in so I can expand my writing range.
> 
> Pollination is the main ship here, and will take off quicker than the chapter might suggest. Do note that other ships, ships not tagged here will also be depicted, and tagged accordingly as they come into the story. (Frosen Steel, Baked Alaska, etc.)
> 
> CW: Mentions of Nausea, (Brief) Accidental Nudity

_ Red Wolf Moon, 11/02, 1483 _

“You’ve summoned me. Why?”

The catacombs beneath Beacon Castle had proven a far more dangerous venture than she’d anticipated. Dark, musky, with the smell of cadavers, it hadn’t taken much to get herself lost in the directionless maze. Then the Grimm Infestation made itself apparent.

The woman who’d saved her, asking this simple question stood over her. Her features lit only by dim wick and a faltering lantern, even with Ruby’s Lycanthrope eyes that revealed all in the dark, her jet-black eyes with grey-blue pupils were that which drew her attention.

“You’re a vampire.” Was all Ruby could dumbly say. Manage. 

The woman frowned. “Yes? Is that important?” She said, silver hair flickering in and out of the darkness. There was something irritated in her voice. Ruby’s lycan senses reached out, as they did in the strangest of times, catching her scent, a sharp, clean pine. “I’ll ask again. I’d like to know who you are, and what exactly is going on around here.”

The tone made her wince, and her tertiary survival senses switched _off_ . Having nearly died, Ruby was far from wanting to be _lectured_. “My name is Ruby, of the House of Rose. Queen of Vale, as of two weeks. You?”

The woman frowned at her answer. “Queen of Vale? You?”

Her wolf ears fell; Ruby was far from the mood to start a spat over this. “Help me out of here, and I’ll explain it to you.

A sudden, slicing pain started at the back of her head, splitting down to her tail, and coiling up the typically energetic limb. A sudden stone of nausea surfaced from the pit of her stomach, winding her. “There’s Grimm. Lots of Grimm.” Ruby said, having coaxed the words out of herself. The words leaving her tongue like sand from her throat.

“We’re deep underneath my castle.” Ruby said, the words dazing her. “There’s a whole lot of Grimm down here, and I really need your help, because my head starting to hurt ferociously.”

All effort from her body sapped from her, she had little option but to let herself go, her back falling against the hard ground as her head writhed in pain. 

A wave of drugging, ceaseless agony slipped in where her consciousness was failing. Before the cold embrace of the world could lull her to sleep, calloused fingers and strong arms scooped her up into a protective cradle. Though the woman who’d carried her lacked body heat in any form, and though her consciousness was escaping her quickly, she knew that in her arms, warm, protected, and _safe_.

* * *

_ Red Wolf Moon, 11/04, 1483 _

Two nights later, she woke with her skull pounding and throbbing against the innards of her skull. With dim candlelight lighting the room, her half-hearted attempts to open her eyes were met with her vision screaming in pain, with her throat warm and hurting, streaks of rigid pain lining the innards of her throat. 

Her body was soaked, dripping with her own sweat. She was burning, her body flaring up, both from the unbearable closeness of the lit fireplace, and the heat ablaze inside her core. Her only reprieve from her misery was the soft cushion of the mattress she rested upon, though it too had been soaked thoroughly by her own sweat.

The room smelled of an overbearing aroma of sage and incense. It might have been a pleasant smell had she been able to concentrate and idle her Lycanthropic senses. A wave of nausea washing over her, she wanted nothing more than to throw up.

“Miss Rose.” She was hardly in the mood to form a coherent thought right now. The dry voice was Miss Goodwitch, a High Elf, and her royal tutor. “I take it you’re feeling better?”

Ruby could only offer a groan.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Goodwitch said. At her fingers, she cast a flame, lighting another damned burner of incense. If she ever lived through the pain, she would never light another scented candle again.

“Why does everything hurt?” Ruby said, her voice like gravel to her throat.

“Your body is supporting a familiar right now, and you don’t have the magic circuits, or the mana to support her.”

“A familiar?”

Goodwitch’s heels clacked against cobblestone, every click a ringing note of pain to her ears. “The woman who saved you. Your familiar.”

“She’s a familiar? _I summoned a familiar?_ ” She wondered out loud, far too spent to keep her thoughts in her throbbing mind.

Goodwitch sighed, not even casting her a passing glance. “I’ve had you ingest multiple solutions of Salts to better support your newfound partner. But too much in a short period of time will overload your body. Your familiar will be able to operate akin to a normal humanoid as long as you follow my prescriptions to the order. Understood?”

Ruby could only offer another groan. “Yes m’am. Do you have anything to make the pain go away? Please?”

Even with her vision swimming, sapped of its focus, Ruby knew Miss Goodwitch would roll her eyes. “Trust me Miss Rose, you would be in far more pain if it weren’t for me. Just leave it at that, and remember your medicine, and that no more than what I say is the dose. Understood?”

“Ugh. Got it.” Ruby gently teased her eyes all the way open; it’s a painful motion, but with time the pain faded into the foreground, almost becoming bearable. “You know, I thought you’d be angrier at me.”

Two clay plates clattered against the floor, Miss Goodwitch’s hands conspicuously empty. “I _am_ , angry. Very angry, young lady. You recklessly endangered yourself by venturing down by yourself, when I’d specifically told you not to. You’re very, _very_ lucky that you were _somehow_ , by miracle, able to summon your familiar. Had it not been for her-”

“Miss Goodwitch…” Ruby said, her heart warmed by her concern, “It was my fault. I was the one that chose to go spelunking, in spite of what you said.”

The look Miss Goodwitch gave said that while she most certainly was not off the hook. Nevertheless, she was acquiesced with what was the driest smile she’d ever been given. “In that case, I’m glad that you agree with me. So this means you won’t be displeased with extended hours of class for the next few days to make up for lost time?”

Ruby groaned again.

“Very good Miss Rose. Exactly two days have passed since your familiar brought you up through the castle catacombs. I’m also letting you know that in light of recent events, I’m shifting the focus of your curriculum towards familiars. You will have your assigned pages after today.”

Her familiar had carried her up? Even with the mana problems afflicting her? “Two days? Buggery.”

“Your free time in the following month will be very limited. I expect great things from you, Young Rose.”

“Fantastic.” Ruby said, earning herself a flick on the nose.

“Speaking of free time, I figured that you would like to acclimate yourself to your new familiar. Shall I bring her in?” Goodwitch asked.

The familiar. Goddess. She hadn’t an introduction. She could send her off, but she very well might get the wrong impression. Which she did not want, with someone who was quite literally tied to her life, with someone who’d saved her.

“Is there something wrong, Miss Rose?” Goodwitch asked, her eyes engrossed in a scroll of hers.

Ruby only blushed a moderate shade of pink. “N-no! Send her in!” Perhaps her sweatiness would hide that?

Oh goddess. Oh goddess she was sweaty.

“Very well. Weiss?”

The doors to whatever chambers she’d been languishing in unlatched. Her knight, Weiss?, had been standing outside the entire time. Listening to them. _Goddess_.

“Yes Lady Goodwitch?”

She was just as pretty as she’d remembered she’d been two days ago. Her sense of smell wafted through the drugging scent of incense, catching the notes of pine that felt oddly warm to her. In spite of her attempts at formalities, Ruby could feel Weiss studying her with whatever intent she’d hidden for herself.

The sweat really must have been obscenely noticeable. That, and the fact she was dressed only in her undergarments, her barely intact linen breastcloth just ruined enough to allow a rebellious nipple to peak out. Very classy.

“B-breasts. I uhm, mean, uh.” With Weiss now privy to her current dishevelment, all Ruby wanted to do was sink into her soaked mattress and fade back into unconsciousness. “Um, I mean, I should allow you to get dressed.” Weiss said, her face a furious shade of red, stepping back presumably to preserve her dignity.

“Yes please.” Was all Ruby could muster.

When the bolt of the chamber doors latched closed, Ruby couldn’t manage more than a hiss on her end. “You couldn’t have told me I wasn’t decent?” Ruby asked, once the door had shut.

Goodwitch’s acknowledgement came frustratingly slow, her gaze never darting away from that damned scroll of hers. “I thought you would have been at least aware of that fact Miss Rose. That, and if you had been aware, then I had assumed you wouldn't have minded.”

“Ugh.”

* * *

_ Red Wolf Moon, 11/05, 1483 _

Their first proper introduction to each other would come a night later, under the ruined shambles of her throne room; having gone unused and unkept for so long, time had withered the royal throne into little more than a pile of bricks.

Still, Weiss seemed uncomfortable doing away with court procedure, leaving Ruby to surmise whether or not she had an entire scroll of court etiquette shoved up her arse.

Weiss approached slowly, her movements precise. A first acknowledgement, a bow, upon entering the chambers. A second, halfway to her. And a third, as she came just before the royal throne, where Ruby was awkwardly slouched, with Goodwitch at her side. Only up close, could she see Weiss’s unease with the palace’s sorry state of affairs. 

“Your highness.” She said, quickly. “My name is Weiss. If you wish to know anything about my background, I will be happy to share it with you."

It wasn’t until Goodwitch nudged her, that Ruby realized she was the one expected to keep the interrogation going. “Oh, uhm, yes! Keep going! I want to hear lots about your story.”

Briefly, just briefly, Weiss frowned at her. Ruby could only sulk in her chair. It wasn’t her damned fault that she’d never gotten to learn court etiquette. 

“I hope you’ll forgive us for our deplorable state.” Goodwitch said. “Ruby has only been queen for two weeks, and has only been aware of her sovereign bloodline for a good month now.”

“That’s embarrassing.” Weiss said.

“Perhaps.” Goodwitch said, Ruby blushing. It hadn’t been embarrassing until Weiss had come into the picture.

“As important as court etiquette is, as the tutor of the House of Rose, I deemed it an unnecessary distraction for now. Perhaps it will come later in her education, but for now, I see it necessary to focus on other subjects.”

“So I guess until then, we don’t have to follow those rules?” Ruby asked, her voice playful. The question was met only first with silence on Goodwitch’s part, and an irritated glare on Weiss’s, until Goodwitch spoke up.

“I suppose that is agreeable. Our working relationship is plenty informal already, and I would much rather not deal with such a headache on top of my current work load.”

Weiss only blushed, huffing out air before crossing her arms. “Fine.”

“And do your best to keep this brief.” Goodwitch said. At the snap of her fingers, she produced a scroll seemingly charted with information Ruby had little idea of. “Introduce yourself, and quickly, _please_. I have several meetings after this one, each of which being far more important.”

It’s subtle, but Weiss’s leg quivered, as if to step back. She briskly nodded, as if to steel herself, before beginning.

“Weiss. Knight-Paladin of Mantle. It should be very obvious, but I descend from one of the Mantillean Vampiric Houses.”

“It was.” Miss Goodwitch said. “Which house?”

“House Schnee.”

The two fell into a deafening silence, with even Goodwitch uncomfortable with the sudden quiet. “House Schnee?”

Weiss only nodded. “Is my father-”

“Jacques Schnee is still Emperor.” Goodwitch said, the faintest traces of a smile curling at her lips. “Tell me, what year were you born?”

“1227.” Weiss said, her knuckles fisted and turning white. “How long has he-”

“Two-hundred and fifty-six years, Weiss.” Goodwitch said.

Weiss opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing ever came. She only swallowed, audibly enough for the throne room to hear.

“I think I know now why you, specifically, were summoned.” Goodwitch said. Weiss had little to say back, so Goodwitch continued on. “If I may ask, how exactly did you meet your end, in your original life?”

Jet black eyes widened, casting Ruby a desperate look. “I…”

Though Goodwitch likely knew better, Weiss’s discomfort was palpable. With her sympathy welling up, Ruby cleared her throat to interrupt. “Uhm, can I speak?” Ruby asked. 

Goodwitch’s curiosity ceased, along with questioning, instead casting a dry look down at her. Ruby swallowed, underneath that tell-less, analytic gaze. “It’s your court.” Goodwitch said, without any hint of disappointment in her voice. “Do what you will.”

“Well,” Ruby started, “I don’t really know much about familiars, but I do want you to feel comfortable while we’re together and stuff. So if you don’t want to answer any questions, it’s totally fine by me.”

In spite of her attempts at a stoic approach, the relief on Weiss’s features was palpable. “T-thank you, your highness.”

It had worked! Being friendly was working. “Oh, uhm, call me Ruby?”

As if to spite her, Weiss’s relief quickly turned into a disapproving, if unsure, frown. “Oh, of course.”

“Not so fast Weiss.” Goodwitch drew her crop, snapping the extension at the base of Weiss’s nose. “Don’t mistake my questions as a sign of hostility. I respect your right to privacy as much as I respect Ruby’s.”

Ruby’s lycan ears drooped at Goodwitch in disapproval.

“However, _do not_ think you are in any way above me. Though you are from the House of Schnee, and you were a Knight of Mantle, and are now a servant of the Queen of Vale, Ruby Rose is to me, first and foremost, my student. This will never change. And as long as you remain bonded to Ruby Rose, you will respect me, as she respects my authority. Understood?”

Weiss could only yelp in the affirmative.

Goodwitch let a sigh escape her lips, frowning after. Rubbing against the back of her glove, she drew what Ruby knew to be an Evoker’s circle. "I suppose we should break, for now. The time has become late, and I have appointments with several of the city advisors soon. Ruby?”

“Yes?”

“Lessons will start with sunrise tomorrow. Weiss, I trust that you will make sure she awakens by that time?”

Weiss nodded. “Of course.”

“Good. Hopefully I won’t have to grab you two like I always have to do for Ruby. And Weiss.”

Weiss immediately straightened.

“You should be able to operate at a limited capacity on Miss Rose’s mana supply alone, provided the two of you _do not_ exert yourselves. We will be working together to augment Miss Rose’s magic circuits together to remedy the situation at hand. So don’t, be, reckless.” She said, enunciating each word with a light smack of the crop to her nose. “Is that clear?”

“Yes, Miss Goodwitch.” Weiss said, rubbing her poor nose.

Before heading off, Goodwitch gave Ruby the usual reminders, but to take it easy, since she was still recovering. Remember to take her hormonal prescriptions, practice her runes, and to pay attention in class the following day. At the snap of a finger, the evoker’s circle at Goodwitch’s gloves pulsed with a vibrant green fire, her body flickering in and out of existence for but a second, before vanishing. It’d been what Goodwitch had described to her as a _Lanuae Magicae (Teleportation)_ spell.

Ruby would be the one to break the silence left behind neither of them knew what to do with. “You want to grab some food or something?” She tried, the friendly body language unwieldy to her. The thought of food sent Ruby's stomach rumbling. "They have a really creamy and buttery lasagne that I really really loved. Or we could just sit here quietly. That’s fine by me.”

Weiss only cast her a weary glance, sighing. “I suppose I do need your help navigating this mess of a palace.”

Ruby glowered. “Two’s company then. Though I should tell you I have no idea how to find my way around myself.”

“Of course.” Weiss said, inattentively. “Of course.”

It hadn’t started off terribly. Ruby had always been an awkward girl around social matters, court matters notwithstanding, so the list of topics she’d prepared herself quickly ran out. Talking about her boring self was far out of the question, so she’d fallen back on asking Weiss about vampires.

“Oh! I’ve always wondered from the stories. What does drinking blood taste like, for a vampire? Does it just taste like blood and you guys just really like the taste of blood, or does it taste like something else, like honey?”

Weiss only crossed her arms, her voice unfocused. “From those I’ve talked to who weren’t born vampires, but became one, the latter. I’m almost a complete carnivore, personally. Anything that I try to eat without blood in it simply tastes like rusted iron.”

“Aww. Does that mean you can’t enjoy sweets?”

“I can enjoy spices and sweeteners, provided there’s some blood, or something raw in my meal.”

“So I’m guessing that means we can’t share meals.”

“No, unless you’re craving a taste for raw flesh.” Weiss snickered, her arms still crossed. “May I ask you a question Ruby?” Her voice was steely cold, cutting through the chilly Valean air.

“What do you want know about me?” Ruby said, grinning, and trying her best to keep a steady face. Weiss’s eyes had been studying her, an interrogation without words. As much as she tried to keep herself calm, there was a difficult to conceal disdain for her bleeding out into the facade. 

“I want to know why you. Why you’re the Queen of Vale.”

Ruby’s wolf ears sank, as she pushed down the knot welling from her stomach. Her tail coiled up out of a sense of caution. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, didn’t you? Vale’s a big kingdom, I’m sure your nobles would have been happy with fighting it out and placing another house on the royal throne. Why you?”

“Goodwitch said that the House of Rose was the only house capable of wielding Vale’s magic to defend the realm.” Ruby said, letting a note of irritation slip into her voice. “She said that the end of the House of Rose would be the end of the kingdom itself.”

“Magic isn’t set in stone.” Weiss said. “The artificers and scholars would figure out a way to unlock the land’s power, without your bloodline. What matters, is why Goodwitch and the kingdom are bothering with the likes of you in the first place.”

“Fine.” Ruby said, gritting her teeth. “How about this? My mom and dad died in a Grimm attack where I went missing a decade ago, and now they’re all dead. How’s that for you?”

Weiss only rolled her eyes. “Congratulations. You’ve discovered you’re a noble. Everyone’s kin are either absolute monsters, or dead.”

“Why are you being such an arse?” 

“Goodwitch already told me about your story. She told me how she found you in the highlands of Southern Sanus, not even aware of who you were _._ Ask yourself this question; why go to such lengths to find some nomad girl, who’d need to be educated and reimmersed in court life? A _Lycan,_ even. Goodwitch must have known how controversial placing a Lycanthrope on the throne would have been.”

The fire welling deep inside her was choking. It wasn’t that she’d been that naive about the upheval of her simple nomad life; she’d asked these very questions herself too. “I don’t know. Complete the thought for me, would you?”

Weiss glared at her. “You might be old enough to rule Ruby, but you’re inexperienced, and immature.”

Ruby only glared back. “Get bent Weiss.”

“And undiplomatic, and easy to provoke. If you spent time in an actual court, they’d devour you.” Weiss gave her a pitying look. “Isn’t it obvious? Goodwitch is using you as a puppet for her own agenda.”

“You think I haven’t considered that yet?”

“Good. Then you’re not as stupid as you seem.”

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you being all… all...” Ruby groaned, seething out a stream of curses from her old tongue she’d picked up during her nomadic years. 

“What’s wrong with me?” Weiss laughed. “What’s wrong with me, is that I’m somehow the familiar of an immature girl who won’t even take her role seriously. The entire future of this kingdom is counting on you, and you seem like you just want to doze off and pick flowers.”

“It’s not like I asked to be lost in the tundra for most of my life.” Ruby said, staring her familiar down. If their relationship was to crash and burn this quickly; so be it. “I didn’t ask for any of this to be given to me.”

Weiss cast her a final, tired look. She seemed far from wanting any further dialogue, Ruby very much in agreement. But Ruby made the mistake of meeting her eyes, and was met with a cold, pained, and confused chill that pricked at every bone at her spine. Her ears rang, the sound reminding her of a kettle on boil.

Whatever she was feeling, Weiss was feeling too, with pupils narrowing. Somewhere deep inside, Ruby simply _knew_ this, confusing as it all was.

“W-well.” Weiss said, gaze darting away regretfully and squeezing the meat of her hand to gather her bearings. “That’s something the two of us can agree on.” With the swipe of a heel, Weiss turned her back on her and started off, leaving Ruby in the rubble of her palace, and their relationship. 

“Great. Guess everyone’s gonna hate me here too.”

  
  
  



	2. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (2/10, Ruby)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Accidental Nudity.

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/07, 1483. _

_“It is well past sunrise Ruby. Are you up, or are you still sleeping?” Weiss said._

Ruby groaned. The cold, biting mornings of Vale were the perfect time to discover that she and Weiss shared a _telepathic_ bond between summoner and familiar. Precisely what she needed; for the familiar that hated her to have a permanent connection to her inner thoughts.

Her sleeping chambers were a cluttered mess, unkept since the residency of her mother seventeen years before. The walls and the furnishings were the red of the House of Rose, the room’s centerpiece the obscenely large canopy bed that took up half the room, swallowing her whole every time she took to it. Besides the furnishings she herself was not used to, and never used, she also had a dining table overlooking the courtyard where she ate, always by herself. 

_“Ruby.” Weiss said, again._

Her eyes were still groggy and crusty from awakening. Though the sun had already risen, Ruby _had_ risen before dawn. Her problem with being timely for classes arose from her morning routine proceeding at an undead’s pace, her weary eyes always wanting nothing more than to drift back to sleep.

“Ruby?” The latches to her chambers clicked free, Weiss bursting in.

Whatever Weiss had been expecting of her, Ruby had yet to put on a tunic, nor the corresponding undergarments on. Leaving her newly budding breasts bared out for Weiss to see. 

Weiss’s jet-black eyes grew comically large, with Ruby far too tired to bother covering herself up or caring. “I thought you would be in bed.” Weiss said briskly, staring.

Ruby only groaned, arching out her back to stretch out the soreness in her muscles. Her tail curled out straight to release any pent-up stiffness from last night’s kip. “A lady’s morning routine takes time.” Ruby said, her voice a scratchy croak. “Can I have something to drink?”

Weiss was _still_ staring. “O-oh. Water? Spirits?”

“Milk please.” Ruby said, reaching out to her nightstand for her morning medicines.

Weiss nodded, still in a daze, and still staring, knocking over a haphazardly situated table as staggered back. “Your room is a mess.”

“You’re still perving on me.” Ruby said.

Weiss blushed furiously, and _finally_ turned to leave, presumably to get her drink.

* * *

_To see a familiar simply in the terms of ‘conjuration’ is a gross oversimplification that distorts what the concept of a familiar is. One does not simply poof a familiar out of thin air; remember that all magic is a manifestation of the wielder’s semblance, their inner reality._

For the unschooled mind of Ruby Rose, Goodwitch’s lessons in the East Wing of Beacon Castle were hell. Her untrained, half-illiterate mind would slog through the texts without comprehension, forcing her to ask for Goodwitch’s help, and keeping the lesson moving at an undead’s pace. Slacking in her seat and waiting out the sun were all she could do to cope with it all.

Her poor behind had been seated for hours now. With midday fatigue finally setting in, Ruby wanted nothing more than to just lean back and fall asleep, Goodwitch’s scolding be damned.

“Were you listening, Miss Rose?” Goodwitch said, snapping Ruby from her half-asleep stupor.

“Sorry. Really sleepy again.” Ruby said.

The whistling in her ears returned, loud enough for Ruby to grimace at the sound.

Her pain had been palpable enough for Goodwitch to look up from her stack of texts, staring at her with those cold Elf eyes. “Is there something wrong, Miss Rose?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but found her lips dry, and her lungs without breath to voice her thoughts. Knots dwelling within her stomach welled within her, and she wanted nothing more than to slam all her texts to the floor and scold herself for being such a terrible student.

“Weiss?” Ruby’s tail shot up; she glowered at the classroom door, _knowing_ precisely who outside was standing guard, her sense of smell catching the fading scent of pine still lingering.

There came forth no answer, no vindication for her outburst, just the cold, dry stare of her tutor in their cramped little classroom stashed away in the better-kept east end of the castle. “Weiss, I know you’re there.” Ruby said.

“She’s run off.” Goodwitch said, engrossed in her texts. “From embarrassment, I would guess.”

“You knew she was listening in on us?” Ruby asked, knocking an inkwell off the cramped confines of her desk; Goodwitch, without an acknowledging glance, kept the ink from spilling through levitation.

“I hadn’t known you’d placed such importance on your studies, Miss Rose.” Goodwitch said.

Ruby only whined, her ears pouting in protest.

Goodwitch only offered a dry smile at her expense. “Yes, I’d been aware Weiss had been listening on today’s class.” Goodwitch said. “She seemed listless. Seems as if she’s exhausted all her options on what to do in the castle.”

“And you were fine with her listening?”

“I fail to see why I wouldn’t be. At least with this arrangement, I will have an audience who listens to what I am saying.” Ruby winced, shrinking in her seat. Goodwitch only rolled her eyes, waving her off. “Only a jest, Miss Rose, even I get bored and find ways to amuse myself as well.”

Ruby crossed her arms. “Can’t she head to town or something?” Ruby said. “That’s more than I can do at least.”

“If you were a more powerful Magus, then yes, she would be able to venture off into Vale proper.” Goodwitch said, casting her a tired look. “But you aren’t. From what I estimate, her effective range is the castle itself. She’s as stuck here as you are.”

“Least we have something in common.” Ruby said, leaning back as far as she could in the rickety confines of her chair.

“I take it you and Weiss are not on good terms?”

“How did you…” Ruby shook her head. Goodwitch always bloody knew. “No. Not really. She hated me from the start. She told me that I wasn’t taking anything seriously, and that I’d be a disappointment as a Queen.”

“And you chose to bite back.” Goodwitch said.

Ruby sputtered, incredulous. “Bite back? She started it.”

“And you chose to take her words to heart.” Goodwitch said, eyes still firmly engrossed in her texts. Let this be a piece of advice to you, Miss Rose. In the political realm, one never chooses their bedfellows.”

“Are you saying that I have to try and make friends with her?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.”

“But she’s being so difficult!” Ruby said, gesturing her arms around in frustrated motions. “And I tried my best to talk to her, but that ended with me calling her an ass, and she might have seen me half-naked a while ago, so that makes everything all awkward-”

Goodwitch stood from her desk, snapping her book shut, and collecting her texts into her satchel.“ _If,_ you insist on being difficult as well, then I will propose my own solution, one which will require less creativity on your part. Since you’ve proven to have tremendous difficulty focusing in class, and since you and your familiar have proven unable to stand the sight of each other in the same space _despite_ sharing the same stream of mana, your familiar from this point on will join you in your lessons, in class.”

Ruby only gawked, rubbing at her wolf’s ears to check if she’d heard right. “What?”

Goodwitch hadn’t even acknowledged her with a glance. “You two will take the same tests, undergo the same lectures, undergo the same exercises, and have the same schooling schedules, since Miss Weiss has nothing to do with her time besides follow you around. Here, your familiar will have something to do with her idle time. Is this not an ideal solution?”

This was most certainly not an ideal solution. Though Ruby might have protested further, she knew she stood no chance against Goodwitch, who’d stupefied her into only being able to gawk wordlessly. She did not want to go through the brutal curriculum already, much less with _her._

If her lack of any discernible reaction were of any indication, Ruby could only surmise Goodwitch was revelling in her agony. “Consider this experience a lesson, Miss Rose.”

“But… I… wait-”

“Class is dismissed for today. I will personally deliver the news to Miss Weiss herself. It is your duty to make sure that the two of you arrive bright and early at sunrise two days from now, and make sure that the two of you have read pages 24-78 of Alchemia Vicapedia, along with the introductory of Nativus Gradation.”

* * *

_“Ruby!”_

Ruby hadn’t even a moment to herself to process the dramatic and unwanted expansion of her class size. The clicking of Weiss’s boots from the hallway signaled her impending white-haired demise, her tail shaking clockwise in instinctual alarm.

“What happened!?” Weiss had burned up into a shade of red, yanking her aside by the shoulder, already seething. “What the hell did you do? Goodwitch just teleported right in front of me and told me that I was going to be taking her class with you. What did you do?”  
  


Ruby shrugged, her wolf ears already quivering underneath the fury of a Schnee. “Nothing! I didn’t do anything!”

Weiss sucked in a breath, steaming fury escaping her lips, fogging up in the winter air. “You just had to open your stupid mouth, didn’t you, you dolt.”

“You were the one stalking me.” Ruby said, glaring back at her in kind. “You could have been doing anything else, but _no.”_

Weiss’s blistering shade of red subsided for a more subtle, embarrassed pink. “It’s not like I can leave this castle in the first place. How about I just go chat up some cute guards and ask them out on a night on the town? Oh wait, I can’t.”

  
  


“Stop trying to deflect.” Ruby said, her tail curling leftward. “While I was in class, I could feel you getting mad at me through the door.”

“I felt something too before I came.” Weiss said, her voice sharply picking back up. “I felt _you,_ not even bothering to pay attention in class. Not even bothering to take anything seriously.”

“I-” Ruby’s voice quivered, her ears drooping. Though she could lie, Ruby herself wasn’t the best of liars, and she feared lying would only make their relationship deteriorate further. “It’s hard, Weiss. It’s difficult for me to read and write, and it’s always so boring in there.”

Weiss’s disapproval only simmered. “Boring? You think your role should be all fun and games?”

“Lonely.” Ruby said, blushing. “It’s been really lonely. You try being stuck inside an empty castle all day, having to sit your stupid butt down sunrise to sunset, and having noone else to talk to but your tutor all day long.”

Weiss stepped into her personal space and stared her down, Ruby shrinking under her the icy, unforgiving gaze of a Vampire. “I have.”

They stared at each other, Ruby and her tail whimpering away until her stomach churned. A wellspring of hot, righteous anger erupted in her core. “Well I’m not you.” Ruby said, her voice shaky. “I’m not some perfect noble who got to grow up in a big castle where everyone loved her, and who got to become a knight.”

“I am none of those things.” Weiss said, her voice a thin rasp.

“Stop acting like you are then.” Ruby said, leaning into Weiss. “Or whatever you think you are.”

“I am not acting like anything. If anything, you’re the one being immature here.” 

Ruby grunted. “How am I being immature, when you’re the one being an arse and always getting angry at me?”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “I’m angry because the one I’m stuck to, that _all of Vale’s_ stuck to, doesn’t seem to want to take anything seriously.”

Ruby mimed her words in exaggerated fashion, Weiss seething at the jest.

“Have you even considered respecting the time others put in for you?” Weiss said.

“Fine.” Ruby said, with a mocking smile. “Fine. I’m sorry that I’m half-illiterate. I’m sorry that have a hard time reading, and that a lot of Goodwitch’s words sound like she’s throwing up after taking to the drink too much. I’m sorry, that I wasn’t reciting my runes and drinking fancy ale, and reciting court material, and shoving every text up my smelly arse when I was stuck in that stupid clan where all the village masters thought I was a freakish demon for not wanting to be a boy. Is that right? Are you happy?”

Weiss glowered quietly, not interrupting her. Ruby’s face burned hot; she knew this was wrong, that some part of her would regret this later, but she would _not_ allow herself to be thrown around anymore. 

“No. Maybe? I don’t know?” Weiss frowned, which made her angry.

“Then what do you want from me Weiss?” Ruby said, her own eyes suddenly wet. She talked faster and faster, the load weighing her down lightening, the rush of euphoria that came with spitting back such bitter words so very addictive. “For me to give up my crown? For me to _disappear_ so you can fuck right back to nonexistence?”

Weiss recoiled. “Ruby please. I’m just trying to say-” 

“Wanted to say what? Did you want to insult me some more? Did you want to tell me how shitty of a job I’ve been doing? That I’m going to do? That’s all you’ve done.” The words stung her lips, humid mist escaping her mouth with a ruby red energy that glowed in the dark halls, drying out her throat, her tongue.

“Ruby. Your eyes. They’re-”

“So you’re going to insult how I look now?” Ruby said, her tail moving around in jagged, short strokes. She glared at her, but her image had blurred behind red tears that covered her eyes. Weiss needed to begone, but that would never happen for her existence was joined to hers’. Without escape, she dialed into the brewing storm of retribution, cruelly mirthful when Weiss’s eyes dropped from hers, her face deeply unhappy with herself.

The bond between the two of them stung with aching regret and remorse. Ruby reached out; though Weiss’s anger was receding, already receded, Ruby’s loathing had yet to unleash itself, and with as much effort as she could muster, she pushed through with her emotions.

“I hadn’t known you’d felt that way.” Weiss said quickly, her voice small. Her eyes did not meet hers’ Ruby felt it was out of shame.

Ruby staggered back; she’d revealed far too much about herself. Words that had been wanting to be spoken for so long, to be spoken to the right person, and they’d been wasted on Weiss who knew too much about her now, while Ruby knew next to nothing about her. She was vulnerable now, to Weiss of all people. _Weiss._

“Ruby?”

“Just shut up.” Ruby uttered, her vision a furiously hot red. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to be angry.”

“Ruby, I-”

Too much noise. “For once, can you shut your stupid mouth!?”

At the command, a ripple red wave of energy burst from her lips, wrapping and chaining onto Weiss’s form. A furious gust of wind blew from behind, almost keeling her over, blowing out the candle lecterns and lifting the curtain of a nearby windowsill, casting a brief ray of sunlight on Weiss’s form.

Weiss’s skin _burned._ Almost lit aflame, her pale skin smoldered a sickly shade of yellow, a putrid, eggy smell singing from the flesh. 

“Weiss, goddess, fuck!” Ruby said, grabbing Weiss before she could crumple. Curling into the quick embrace, Weiss’s strength gave way, her body slackening into Ruby’s arms.

“Weiss? Talk? Please?” Ruby said, still able to see in the darkened hallway.

Though Weiss' lips moved, her mouth failed to open. Instead her body revolted, a current of red energy electrocuting her body, a pained shriek bunched up in her mouth.

“Shit, fuck, I’m so sorry! Uhm, don’t talk?” Ruby said, earning herself a pained glare.

Weiss, still biting back the screams she’d wanted to make, only rested her head against Ruby’s shoulder, her exhaustion coming through the telepathic bond in droves.

_“We have a telepathic bond?” Weiss said, her telepathic voice very much annoyed._

“Fuck, I’m so sorry.” Ruby said, unable to meet Weiss’s gaze. “I didn’t want, I mean I didn’t plan for this, I didn’t want any of this-”

_“I just want to get comfy.” Weiss said, her voice hesitant and barely audible in the panic of her thoughts. “Please?”_

Ruby dumbly nodded. “You want me to get Goodwitch or any of the guards-”

_“No.” Weiss’s voice quivered. “No, please.”_

Ruby’s stomach churned with worry. “But-”

_“It’s just sunlight, and whatever you just did to me. I’ll get better, just lay me down somewhere so I can fall asleep for my legs to start working again. Please.”_

Ruby swallowed; though she had doubts about this, she was hardly of a mind to argue with Weiss again, considering what she’d gone and done. She gently scooped Weiss in her arms, cradling her to her chest. Alright.” Ruby said, blushing. She tried not to imagine whatever the two of them looked like right now, and had failed miserably. “Just tell me where your room is, okay?”

Weiss only looked away.

“Weiss, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me-”

_“I don’t have a room.” Weiss said. “Vampires don’t need to sleep as often as other humanoids, so I figured I didn’t need to ask until I needed one.”_

“You didn’t have a room.” Ruby said, cursing under her breath. She’d been selfish. So selfish for not noticing-

_“That doesn’t make you selfish Ruby. I-”_

Weiss blushed red, her large black eyes blinking at Ruby’s. Ruby blushed back. “We can read each other’s thoughts, whether we like it or not.” Ruby said. “Let’s just accept it, and move on, before my arms fall off from carrying you.”

Weiss nodded. 

“My room it is I guess.” Ruby said. 

Weiss’s eyes widened again. _“Your room.”_

“I’m not shoving you inside a spare closet. I know it’s gonna be awkward, but I don’t have another solution, unless you can think of one.”

The bright red face from Weiss’s end indicated that no, she couldn’t.

She carried Weiss through the near-abandoned halls of her castle, earning a few strange looks from several of the castle guard along the way. Weiss was soft in her arms. With Weiss stripped of her ability to speak, and her motility completely winded, this had been the closest the two had approached towards being cordial with each other. It was a very sadistic bonding experience.

_“I know right?” Weiss said, her voice tired._

“Huh?” Ruby said, her ears straightening.

_“What you were thinking.” Weiss said, sighing inwardly. “Our connection, it’s… I don’t know how to turn it off or on. It just happens.”_

Ruby sighed. “Same here.” The two made no more attempts to converse as they walked to her chambers, contented without making light on the compromising positions they were in.

“My room.” Ruby said, pushing the doors open with her rear. “Sorry about the mess.”

_“It’s fine.” Weiss said. It was a poor lie._

She foisted Weiss onto the bed, her poor arms sore from carrying her so far. Weiss took to the bed quickly and stripped off her outer layers, Ruby sheepish at the sight. She claimed a pillow for herself, gagging when she’d sniffed at the sheets. “What?” Ruby said.

_“Your sheets. Do your attendants wash them?”_

“Uh… attendants?”

Weiss rolled her eyes, scooching away from Ruby and claiming another pillow for her own.

“Hey, hey. Come back here.” Ruby said, leaning over Weiss to pester her for her attention. “I need to ask if your skin’s okay. You smelled like a cesspit-laden gravesite back there.”

Weiss glared at the comparison, telepathically spitting out a series of what Ruby assumed were Atlessian insults. Ruby crossed her arms, content to just wait the tirade out until Weiss was ready.

_“Very well.” Weiss said, red-faced after a minute._

Ruby crawled atop Weiss to get a better look. Whatever skin her outfit had left exposed was superficially burned, but nothing Ruby hadn’t managed with herself regarding her and cooking. 

“You seem okay, though I’d want to get help if you’re not better by tomorrow morning. Do you feel okay?”

Weiss’s face was burning red, her eyes dilated stupidly and a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. 

“You… okay Weiss?” Ruby asked.

_“Get off of me. Please.” Weiss whimpered._

Flushing furiously, Ruby realized she’d been straddling Weiss by the waist the entire time, nearly falling off the bed in her scramble to get off. “Sorry I-”

She received a pillow to the head as an admonishment, but beyond that, Weiss didn’t seem to hold anything against her. She instead kept quiet, nestled in her blankets and content with sleeping the night out. It might have been nice, being together like this, if the entire ordeal hadn’t been caused because of her.

_“I know you’re sorry already Ruby.” Weiss said, opening a weary eye at her._

Ruby’s tail curled up. “Huh? How’d you know-”

_“We have a… whatever form of telepathy this is, Ruby. You’ve been feeling sorry ever since this happened.”_

“I really am-”

_“I know you are.”_

Through the bond, a rush of familiar emotions came to the forefront of Weiss’s thoughts. The lonely, aching feeling in one’s soul that came with self-loathing, the frustration bubbling inside when one had anger and was unable to wield it. Ruby’s tail fell in sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

Weiss only rolled her eyes, turning over and burying her face in a pillow. _“I’m really tired Ruby. Please. Let me heal.”_

Ruby’s ears softened. “You’re really cute when you’re like this.” She caught what she’d said, expecting to receive a second pillow to the head, but Weiss had already fallen aslumber. 

* * *

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/08, 1483._

In the morning, Ruby awoke after Weiss. Consciousness was not kind to her, for her stomach was welling with nausea, beyond any morning sickness. She was swimming, bathing in her own sweat, soaking her clothes through, though the morning’s agony was nowhere close to the suffering she’d woken to a week prior.

Weiss wasn’t with her; the uptight familiar had likely stormed off from how disgusting her stupid body was being, unlike hers. Ruby seethed; right now, she did not need dysphoria along with her nausea. Today was a Sunday, and she was off. She was determined to relish the day while she could.

Sundays, she was meant to be attending services in Basilica City, paying her tribute to the Goddess. Though the Church of the Goddess was well-entrenched in the Highland Clans of Southern Sanus, Ruby privately had always been loath to feign deference to their Goddess.

Goodwitch hadn’t minded, and allotted her the day off. The Valean merchant cities thrived on commerce, and commerce thrived on tolerance. The issue of agnosticism according to her, was ‘not uncommon’ amongst the magic wielding nobility.

Though she was loath to move any part of her body, Ruby arched her neck to see her clock; the time was well past sunrise, three parts exact. She would have much preferred to sleep in for the day, but she very much needed a bath.

Her bathing chambers, stone and large, and by some miracle of magic, had running heated water. Though she’d detested taking brisk, lukewarm (at best) baths in the cold highlands of Southern Sanus, here the ritual had quickly taken to her routine, the steam and the waters providing a long reprieve from her loneliness.

Ruby pushed her fatigue aside, and trudged herself to the baths, stripping off her clothes shortly after stepping in. Steam quickly clouded her vision; her bath was always running every part of the day, so this came as no surprise.

What was _not_ normal, was the outline of Weiss’s very naked body in the main pool, her features coming through as Ruby’s eyes adjusted to the steam. Unwilling to tear her gaze away from the sight, she instead raked her eyes over the pale, marked flesh, her chest endowed with flat, if subtle curves, the nipples small and perky.

“Ruby!” Weiss shrieked, covering her modesty with her arms. There was little else she could cover her chest with.

“Weiss?” Ruby covered her eyes, suddenly self-conscious of the arousal stiffening underneath her skirt, the only garment protecting her modesty _down there_.

“What are you doing?” Weiss said, stammering and flushing red when she caught sight of Ruby’s chest. 

“I don’t know! I didn’t know you were here and this is still pretty much my room and there’s not really a lock so I just walked in?” Ruby said, grabbing a spare drying fabric and covering up her chest. 

She’d expected Weiss to resume yesterday’s furor at her, but she only sighed, averting her gaze, still blushing a bright crimson red.

The two settled into silence, neither of them comfortable with the current arrangement. Ruby backed outside, pushing the door open with her pert rear. “Uhm, I’ll go now. I’m really sorry and didn’t mean to make you mad-”

“Ruby. Stop.”

Ruby’s tail and ears stood straight up. 

“It’s nothing. Really Ruby, it is.” Weiss said, her arms protective of her bare, puffy chest, hovering just above the surface of the water. “Considering the states of undress I’ve seen you in, I’d just consider the two of us even.” 

“Even. Yes, even!” Ruby said, face warm and pricking at her thumbs to distract her from thoughts of Weiss’s soft, perky bosom. 

“Well. Uhm. Bye.” By some sort of magic glowing at Weiss’s fingers, a gust of wind followed and blowed the door shut, knocking Ruby on her arse.

Ruby trudged herself back into her bed, still very half-naked, with the hot and wet sheen of her own sweat still sticking onto her own body. She buried herself in her blankets, having always liked the feeling of blankets against her nude form, and tried not thinking about the droplets of water sliding across Weiss’s pale skin, with her bare, perky breasts hovering just above the surface of the bath water.

“Fuck.” Ruby whimpered, her hips already grinding against a firm mound of bunched up blankets. She hadn’t touched herself down there in so long, the firm disgust she had towards her genitalia and the body attached to it always keeping her from enjoying her sessions with herself. Even with Goodwitch’s alchemical concoctions facilitating her bodily transition, her life since her coronation was always overwhelming, always keeping her from thinking about… that.

Today would be her breaking point. No matter how many cleansing images she ran through her mind, alchemical formulas, long academic texts, men, rat-infested tunnels, Weiss’s body proved to be far too potent of an image she could just rake away from her thoughts.

The steam was already slipping into her vision as Ruby submerged in her own sweat. The room was boiling hot, though the steam was refreshing, in a way.

_Her body was unforgivably covered with grime; she’d been far too preoccupied with figuring out the labyrinth of this damned, unavigatable castle and trying to figure out how to be cordial with Ruby, that she’d neglected her own hygiene. And though the bathwaters were heaven across her skin, and they helped to keep her pondering mind at bay, the thought of Ruby kept her mind wandering._

_This was her punishment, wasn’t it? For failing and never amounting to anything in her life, fate had gone and placed her in such a humiliating role, where she’d be of no use. Like attracted like. If she and Ruby were both useless, it stood to fit well that they could both be worthless together._

_And it wasn’t if she were purposefully looking to antagonize her. All that time confined in Father’s Estate while he tried and failed to groom her into his heir had left her with the diplomatic skills of a zombified halfling._

_She wiped at her eyes, the flesh around them red and puffy from the tears swelling into her eyes. She hadn’t wanted anyone to notice that she was weak, and tried to put on a familiar scowl, the only face she knew. The face of a Schnee._

_Ruby would be seconds away from crying. It’d all been her fault again. Damn her incompetent tutor for thinking Ruby could ever get through to a someone like her. Weiss was useless, having absorbed only the basics of her own training before she’d met her end._

_Buried underneath those ridiculously cozy blankets of hers, Ruby was trying not to cry. Without realizing it, she’d been peering into her mind and covered in Weiss’s bathwater-_

“Weiss?” Ruby said, testing her suspicions. Whatever vision she’d just had was real, she knew it. With a curious finger, she dipped it into where the bathwater should have been, according to her vision.

Her finger came out wet, smelling like soap, much like the rest of her body.

_“Ruby?” Weiss whispered, Ruby registering the sound clearly. Even though they were hardly a great distance apart, it still should have been impossible to hear._

Ruby swallowed, Weiss’s throat tightening simultaneously. “I take it this isn’t a good time for more telepathy.”

_Weiss shook her head._

Ruby tried very hard not to ignore that Weiss was still very much naked, and failed miserably.

_Weiss blushed red. “Can you leave?” Weiss said._

Ruby nodded. “Trying. Let me just… uhm…” She shook her head, pinched her side, scratched an ear, pulled her own tail, all vain efforts in trying to shake herself free from whatever telepathic nonsense was gripping the two of them 

_“You’re still in my head.” Weiss said._

“I know I’m still in your head!” Ruby said. “You think I asked to be in your head?”

_Weiss palmed her forehead. “This is ridiculous.”_ _Weiss said._

“You think I don’t know that?” Ruby said. She tore off her sheets, shucked her clothes and slipped on a nightgown, taking to the hallway, in the hope that some new stimuli would jolt their perceptions apart. “You think Miss Goodwitch would know an answer?”

_“Goddess, no.” Weiss blushed. “Well, yes, but this is just too embarrassing. I’d much rather not she knows about this.”_

“She probably already does. She’s probably laughing at us right now.” Ruby said, walking by a guard who gave her a quizzical look. “Great, now the castle guard’s staring at me for talking to myself. They’re all going to think I’m possessed. Ruby Rose. The insane queen.”

_“Trust me, when I say you’ll have much competition for that title. A few bouts of madness here and there are par for the course for the ruling class-”_

_“_ Miss Rose?”

Speak of the devil and she doth appear. Perhaps Goodwitch had been listening in on their telepathic conversation, for she’d chosen this moment to step out of the shadows from a blind corner. Ruby jumped, staggering to the ground while Weiss yipped on her end, splashing water about the bath.

Goodwitch offered her a steady hand, her elven eyes carefully scrutinizing her. 

“Feeling well, Miss Rose?”

“Yes.” Ruby said, her heart thumping in her chest. Her Lycan’s senses were sharp, but Goodwitch had come at her from _nowhere_. “Never better.”

“In that case, I must ask you to please watch where you’re going, Miss Rose. I know you’re making progress with your familiar, but that does not excuse the bout of madness a handful of the castle guards reported you in the midst of.”

Ruby blushed red, but nodded in begrudging deference. “Uh, yes. Of course.”

When Goodwitch turned on her heel and left her alone in the hallway, Weiss guffawed with laughter.

“I told you!” Ruby whispered. “I fucking told you she knew!”

_“Of course. Of course she does.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, if folks are still reading, will be Blake. Who may be playing a major part in making the fic more spicy a lot quicker. :/  
> Comments always encourage me to keep writing.


	3. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (3/10, Ruby)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Descriptions of eating meat. Discussions on Anti-Faunus Racism.  
> Note: Removed a NSFW Scene because I realized the pacing of the romance would work better if it were moved elsewhere. Apologies.

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/14, 1483_

The East Wing of the castle grounds were mostly empty, though more lively and well kept in contrast to the remainder of her castle, being the site where Goodwitch and much of her inner circle conducted their work from. Dark corridors lit up by lantern as she approached, each enchanted by a Nympharum Plus Ignis (Faerie Fire) spell, bathing the afternoon light with a purple glow.

Ruby _had_ been excited to make some progress with Weiss. She'd even felt shame regarding how quickly she'd written off their relationship at first. But while Weiss was, as Ruby begrudgingly admitted, was a smart woman, her demands for her academic services proved to be far more than Ruby could handle.

In Weiss's own words, "Since I'm doing all the heavy lifting in our academic relationship, the least you can do is go grab my books for me."

"Isn't Weiss supposed to be my familiar? I'm supposed to be the queen here." Ruby said, prying open the stone doors of the castle Arcanum, protected by Arcane Wards against those without her blood, to protect the texts from unworthy, prying eyes.

Wednesdays, the Librarian of the Royal Arcanum was on leave. She would have to sift through the obscenely large collection of Arcane Texts and Scrolls herself, the thought of such a search wilting her ears and depressing her tail.

Impossible task or not, for her, the Arcanum was warm, kept so by a lit fireplace casting long shadows over the bookshelves and the walls. There was little noise, save for the firewood, crackling by the fire.

Her eyes cast over a sampling of the library's selections, the bindings shimmering with magic as her sight hovered over. Enchantments meant to guard against aging, insects, and wear, Goodwitch had explained. A select few were even chained to the bookshelf itself, though this would present no barrier to her. Each chain had been sealed with the blood of the House of Rose, and would unlatch at the touch of her fingers.

Her eyes glazed over where she thought her text should have been, only to find it _not there_. She grumbled a passing curse regarding the necessity of memorizing the distinctions between schools of magics. Couldn’t the Arcanum install charts, or visual reminders for this?

Her eyes perused the shelves a second time, then a third, when her ears perked up as she finally caught sight of the book she needed. Nestled in the far corner of the Arcanum, it lay atop the highest shelf.

She groaned miserably at the sight of the text she needed, that took up an entire third of the shelf. She brought over a ladder nearby, paying little mind to its rickety construction. It would only be a quick use.

Grabbing the book proved slipperier than she’d assumed, the behemoth text refusing to budge no matter how she prodded it.

“Come on…” Ruby said, slipping her fingers in between the openings. She laughed in triumph when the text gave way, only for the rungs of the ladder to snap, sending Ruby plummeting downwards, text in hand.

She fell to the floor, her shoulder breaking her fall and protesting with pain. She groaned, her eyesight swimming out of focus until her vision registered the bookshelf teetering precariously right above her.

Ruby swallowed. “Oh cripes.” 

She winced and shut her eyes, bracing for the impact until another presence stood above her, a black-haired woman with deep, slitted eyes of gold. She held the bookshelf at bay, her arms keeping the weight from tipping over. She had two cat’s ears atop her head, and a cat’s tail right above where her rear was, catching a renegade book mid-air.

“Tabaxi?” Ruby said.

“Does it really matter right now?” The Tabaxi said. “Help me lift this damned bookshelf up or we’re both dead.”

Her ears stood straight up, and she pushed past the pain, mustering herself up to her feet, and shoved her back against the bookshelf. A growl escaped her lips as the bookshelf tipped back into position against their strength, slamming back into place.

“T-thanks…” Ruby said, her feet very wobbly and her sides still aching with pain. 

_“Ruby?” Their connection tugged, Weiss’s voice ringing. Reluctant, regretful embarrassment pouring through on her end. “Should I come?”_

“It was no problem.” The Tabaxi said, stretching out her arms. 

_“It’s fine. Everything is absolutely fine.” Ruby said._

“So… Tabaxi?” Ruby said, pointing to the cat’s ears on her head. She pushed down her own embarrassment as best she could.

The Tabaxi woman kept a distance, her cat’s tail hanging low. Her slitted eyes raked up and down Ruby’s form, her intent indiscernible, though not hostile. “Half-tabaxi.” She said, dusting off her cloak. You’re the new Queen of Vale everyone in town’s been talking about, aren’t you?”

Ruby’s ears perked right up. “Talking about me? Uhm, actually I meant, yes, that is absolutely me. Ruby Rose, Queen of Vale.” Ruby said, biting down her _new_ , self-inflicted embarrassment.

The Half-Tabaxi woman continued to eye her with that analytic, distant gaze, still keeping her distance. “Blake. Just Blake.”

It was a pretty name, for a pretty woman. “Well Blake, uhm, thank you for the save, but I thought I was all alone in here.” Ruby said.

“I’m very quiet.” Blake said, dryly.

“Can confirm.” Ruby said. “Definitely did not notice you.”

Blake’s lips quivered into the slightest of smiles. It was a very pretty smile, one Ruby guessed few had seen.

“Something on your mind?” Ruby asked.

Blake shrugged. “You’re… smaller than I expected.”

Ruby blushed bright pink, with her tail and ears stood up in protest. “Hey, I’m still not done growing. I hope.” When Blake only crossed her arms with that knowing smirk, Ruby groaned. “Fine, whatever. I haven’t asked; what exactly do you do here?”

“I’m just getting books.” Blake said, dryly. 

Ruby rolled her eyes. 

Blake sighed. “It’s… part of an agreement with the Oobleck and the Maguses of this castle. I deliver correspondence and share research between the Maguses here, and the Maguses who have to live in Menagerie. Oobleck and the others here let us have whatever books we need for our research in return for our results.”

Ruby’s ears perked up, “You’re a magus?” Ruby asked.

Blake shook her head. “I’m a messenger, not a magus. Well, I know a bit of magic, but…” She winced, uncomfortable with her thoughts, and sighed. “I’d rather much not talk about it.”

“That’s alright.” Ruby said. “Why do the people of Menagerie need to send a messenger though? Why don’t they just come here themselves?”

Blake narrowed at her, her ears twitching. “You’re very new to this, aren’t you?”

Ruby’s ears perked up in protest. When Blake’s doubting gaze did not give way, she gave up and sighed. “I… yes, I am.”

She didn’t make fun of her, as she’d been expecting. Blake only stared, her eyes glazing over her with that intense, analytical gaze she felt naked under.

“Because your men won’t let any Faunus through, even if they have a legitimate pass, like I do.” Blake said, rummaging through her satchel and producing a scroll, offering it.

Ruby skimmed the the contents of the pass, comprehending about three-fourths of the writing. “Uh, yeah. Looks good to me?” Ruby said. It was a poor attempt to feign comprehension.

Blake plucked the scroll right out of her hands, stuffing it into her satchel. “It doesn’t matter. The guards will just up and arrest any Faunus who tries to even approach the castle, pass or no pass. I’m the only one who can scale the castle walls and sneak past the guards, which is why Menagerie sent me.”

“And no one does anything about it? Not even the Maguses?” Ruby asked.

Blake shook her head. “No. It would be inconvenient for them. The current arrangement suits them just fine.”

“I’m sorry.” Ruby said. “Can you at least tell me why my guards jail your kind without reason?”

“You’re… bothering very hard with the likes of me.” Blake said, her cat’s tail drooping lifelessly. “May I ask why?”

“I just want to be able to help.” Ruby said, her tail straightening. “It’s my duty as a Queen to protect my subjects, isn’t it?”

Blake’s stare was cold, studying. “You really are just some clueless Lycan girl they picked out in the Southern Highlands, aren’t you?”

Ruby hadn’t the will to protest. “Was it really that obvious?” She said.

“It’s all the talk of the town since you’ve been crowned Queen.” She walked up close, taking her hand into her own. Flush embarrassment rose to her face, warm and intimately discomforting. “The young and beautiful queen. Perhaps noble and kind-hearted. Or naive and in over her head. Lost to the Southern Highlands for years. Discovered and rushed back to Vale in utter secrecy. And now suddenly expected to lead her people to stability and peace.”

Ruby swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “You think I’m… where are you leading with this?”

Blake let go of her hand. “I’m just trying to figure out what to make of you.”

“I’m just trying to be friendly.” Ruby said, her face and ears still pink with embarrassment.

Blake’s eyes softened, and she kept a distance, uneasy. “Shit. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just… I’m not very good at this.”

Ruby missed how close they’d been. “Not very good at what?”

There was the faintest flush of pink on Blake’s face. “Talking to people.” She said, her voice reluctant.

Ruby’s ears fell in sympathy. “Well I’m not the best at talking to people either. But you’ve certainly interested me.”

Blake’s ears perked up. “I have?”

“Well, you’ve snuck past my guards and according to you, you scale the castle walls for a living, so yeah, you’ve certainly caught my interest.”

Another reactionless stare. “I could quite literally be an assassin, stalking out my kill. Inches away from slit your throat.” Blake said, her breath husky, Ruby suddenly aware of how little space they had between them.

“But… you haven’t yet?” Ruby said, her tail quivering innocently.

Blake tried her best to keep her face, but quickly gave in to poorly-kept snickering. “That’s quite possibly the worst reasoning I’ve heard by far.”

Her laughter was broken by the grumbling of her stomach. Ruby broke out into laughter, Blake flushing bright-pink with embarrassment, the sight of it charming. “I should leave.” Blake said, stammering. “Suppertime will be soon.”

“You want to have supper while you’re here?” Ruby said, her tail wagging out at the mention of food. “I heard today, they’ll be cooking up a meaty saffron Risotto with extra cheese.” 

Blake’s tail shot up, her mouth pert. “Saffron? Uh. Uhm. That all sounds delicious, but I uhm, couldn’t.” Blake said, unconvincingly.

“You sure?” Ruby said, pouting. “I can bring the food to you if you didn’t want to be seen by any guards.”

“You’re... very hands-on for a noble, aren’t you?” Blake said.

Ruby’s tail fell. “Oh. Uhm, is that a bad thing?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think so.” Blake said, her gaze darting away, her lips curled in a shy smile. “Do they have anything with fish? And milk?”

“I can try? I asked the chef once if they had anything fishy, and he just looked at me if I murdered someone.”

Blake’s ears twitched. “Stupid nobles can’t understand the complexity of a good seared salmon.” Blake grumbled, as Ruby took off.

The kitchen staff all gawked at her in unison at her request for seafood, but gave way at her insistence, assigning a Grung dishwasher to that duty. She came back, platter in hand, her fears abandonment dashed by the sight of Blake waiting patiently, if anxiously for her.

She set down their food on one of the available study tables. “One Peninsular Risotto for me, a Seared Lemon Trout for Blakey, and two Goats Milks, for us. Oh, and I got them to flash roast a chicken for us so we could share.” Ruby said.

Blake’s eyes glowed, mouth openly salivating at the platter. She tore into her food, devouring the trout before Ruby had cleaned half her Risotto.

“You want some of mine?” Ruby said, pulling out the spoon in her mouth. The Risotto had been for her, an earthy, tart, and cheesy affair, but the stuff sat heavy in her stomach, the dish becoming a slog to get through.

Blake shook her head, but eyed the rice. It did not take long for her to give in and nab a bite of her own. Her eyes widened, tasting the creamy rice, her head tilting back with delight. She wasted no time taking another spoonful for her own.

“It’s… cheesy. And quite fatty.” Blake said, muffling a moan with another bite.

Ruby squealed; the sight of a pleasured Blake was proving to be _adorable_ . “It’s _so_ good.”

Another spoonful of Risotto later, Ruby caught Blake eyeing the untouched chicken with suspicion, uncomfortable with its presence. 

“You wanna take a bite?” Ruby said, grabbing a drumstick and gnawing into the meat.

“I’ve never had chicken before.” Blake said, blushing at the admission.

“I asked them if they could serve it every day and they said yes.” Ruby said, gushing. “Obviously I was kidding, but I think they were being completely serious about it.”

Blake watched in silence, cutting off a cautious piece, eating it up. Her ears straightened in agreement. “Tastes like rabbit.” 

“But better.” Ruby said, as Blake cut off another piece.

“What is that herbal taste exactly?” 

“Ah, I think they told me Rosemary? Do you dislike it?”

Blake’s eyes glowed. “I love it.”

They finished their meals quietly, Ruby crying about the assigned reading she had to finish by sunrise, and Blake comforting her as best as she could, awkward woman as she was. It was pleasant, dining with someone new from outside the castle. Weiss had proven to be less agreeable to dine with, and could never share dishes with her, always requiring blood or raw meat in her meals. 

Their meals ended all too quick. Blake made her excuses to sneak off the castle premises quietly, but Ruby had one more thought to share for the night.

“Wait. Blake. I want to help.” Ruby said.

Blake’s ears perked, and she turned to face her. “With what?”

Ruby cleared her throat as best she could and set her plates aside, standing up. “I’d like to see you off. But that’s impossible while I’m forbidden to leave, and you’re forbidden to come and go as you please. So I want to know why they’re not allowing your kind in, or out.”

Blake set down her satchel, laden heavy with books. “Because I’m faunus. As are you, to a degree.”

Ruby’s ears perked. “I’ve never heard of a Faunus.”

“You’ve lived in the Highlands all your life. Where all that live are the Lycanthropes and the Fae.” Blake said. “Beastfolk, Faunus, Monstrous Races, these all mean the same thing, here in Vale, and in ‘civilization.’ Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes rule above all. Tabaxi, Tieflings, Orcs and Goblins like me are faunus, animal beings to be ruled over. Lycanthropes, Satyrs, sit squarely in the middle of the pack. And half-breeds like me are an insult to the natural order of the world.”

“I hadn’t heard.” Ruby said, quietly.

Blake offered her a reprieving look. “You’ve lived in the Highlands your entire life. You hadn’t known.”

“But I do now.” Ruby said. “And I can do something about it.”

Blake crossed her arms. “And you’ll need me to provoke them so they won’t be able to lie to your face when you confront them.”

Ruby stammered out her next words, her train of thought completed by Blake. “Uhm-uh, yes. How… did you know?”

“I guessed.” Blake said, dryly.

Ruby blushed, her tail circling innocently. “Heh. Guess I’m not so hard to see through, am I?”

Blake shook her head, Ruby growing uneasy with the smile curling her lips. It was the smirk of a gambler, who’d considered every odd and end of their cards at hand, sizing her up for their next move. 

“In some ways, you’re as transparent as they come, Ruby Rose. But if that were all there was to you, I’d be done with you, and wouldn’t be bothered with hearing your plan out.”

Ruby’s eyes flashed up at hers. “You’ll do it?” 

Blake took her hand, clasping the fingers in hers. “Out of curiosity, yes.”

Ruby blushed bright pink at the contact, sent into a stammer by the slitted eyes gazing into hers. “O-oh.”

Her eyes dared her to act. With a dark, husky voice, Blake spoke. “Show me your authority as Queen then, Ruby Rose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked, the best way to keep me going is through comments. They help more than staring at the hits metric on my fic lol


	4. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (4/10, Blake)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: None

_ Red Wolf Moon, 11/14, 1483 _

Beacon Castle was built atop a great hill that split the River Doria, overlooking the city that scaled the bluffs below. Vale Proper was a muddy, pitiful ramshackle city, built atop the ruins of a great empire that had existed a millenia ago, many of the ruins still standing today. The River Doria encroached on the Island Vale on all sides, necessitating the construction of three millenia-old concrete bridges that emptied out to the surrounding hills.

Menagerie, where many of the city’s Faunus lived, existed in such a ruin, sequestered near the Harbors and the Workshops and the Great Bridge of Vale, the ancient bridge that arched towards the East. Ease of access, for ease of exploitation. Though Menagerie was safer than most neighborhoods, patrolled night and day by High Leader Sierra Khan’s street militia, it’s streets were still mud, torn up by cart, livestock and foot traffic. Housing was cramped, with most hovels supporting two families or more. Its streets cramped and narrow, most only wide enough to support one cart. Its wells long dried, necessitating the purchase of liquor and water from those in other parts of the city willing to sell, always on unfair terms.

All those in Vale proper, even those who looked upon the Faunus with disdain respected the leader of Menagerie as High Leader Sienna Khan. The Half-Rakshaka (Tigerfolk, as the ‘Higher’ races called it,) had taken in Blake years ago. She tried her best as her caretaker, though it was clear she had no expertise caring for a young adult such as herself. 

Menagerie’s hall was little more than drapery and patchwork tented above a standing ruin, but all those important in Vale proper knew where of it, situated on a dimly lit muck road, stuck between a grocer and a butcher where there was much coming and going of people.

The repulsive stench of her work quarters humbled High Leader Sienna Khan, and kept her grounded with the conditions of the people she led. 

“You’ve been in high spirits tonight, Blake.” Sienna said, busied with a stack of reports sat on the rest of her ‘throne’, a glorified fold-up chair, no longer busied with negotiations and intrigue.

Blake’s ears twitched. She peered up from her desk, still dazed from the day’s events. Bureaucratic work had never been her forte. She shook her head, but blushed. “A bit, High Leader. As I’ve reported, today was-”

Sienna snapped her fingers, and scowled at her, jolting Blake to attention. “All these years, and you’re still so formal.” On instinct, Blake found herself apologizing, biting her tongue and standing, having grown rest;ess. “You’ve met someone who’s caught your fancy, haven’t you?” She asked, with a curt smile.

“It isn’t like that at all, Sienna. Ruby and I-”

Sienna’s eyes widened. “Ruby? The Queen of Vale Ruby? You must be kidding me.”

Blake shook her head furiously. “It is not like that-”

Sienna burst out into laughter. “It is! You’ve caught the fancy of the Queen of Vale; tell me, is she small? Innocently cute as they’ve said she is?”

“Small, yes.” Blake said, a laugh curling at her lips. “But you have it all wrong.  _ She’s _ the one who’d wanted to speak and dine with me.”

“Oh Blake, I wouldn’t have guessed. The Queen has caught an eye for you.”

“It is not like that!” Blake said, her ears and tail curling up in embarrassment.

“So this is why you weren’t feeling up to supper. Even though I went to all the trouble of making my  _ Kakavia _ for you.” Sienna said, in mock sorrow.

Blake’s tail perked up at the mention of the Mistralian Fish Soup. “Perhaps tomorrow.”

Sienna’s ears fell. “Then it won’t be as fresh, Blake. Oh, but who am I to protest. To be young and in love again...”

Blake bit down a protest, not wanting to hear anything of the sort.

“You know Blake, love is nothing like the stories written in those pornographic novellas of yours.” Sienna said, checking her nails with a longing, reminiscent look.

Blake flushed bright red. “Y-you said you’d forget about those.” She whined.

“Oh I say lots of things I never mean.” Sienna said, shrewdly. “I’m a politician. It comes with the territory.”   
  


Blake’s tail fell in protest. She did not need this right now, and the opening of their tent was an option looking more and more attractive by the second. Sienna must have taken notice, for she stood, made her way over, and clasped her shoulders with her hands. 

“I’m just happy for you, Blake. You haven’t been this… upbeat since your training so long ago.”

The memory burned in her mind. She had not wanted to be reminded of the past. “I know.”

Sienna tried so hard to fill the hole where Mother once had been, at times it only burned at the wound further _.  _ “You’re still hung up on Ilia are you not?”

Blake did not answer, and did not want to answer. She bit her lip and turned away, her tail tucking itself in between her legs. 

Sienna let go; it had been the wrong place to go, a mistake, as did many of her attempts to help always ended up as.

Ilia was still missing. She would still be missing for three years now by the end of the month,.

“Ruby seems… amenable, cordial, with her intentions. I really do believe she really wants to help.” Blake said, not wanting to think about Ilia.

“Like her mother before her. With the plan she’s concocted, I would hope that she is of a sympathetic disposition.” Sienna said, leaning back on her chair, her eyes distracted by her reports. “And it is Queen Ruby, Blake. Queen Ruby is the proper title. I hadn’t guessed you were regarding each other informally already.”

Blake flushed bright pink again. “Apologies.”

“She really has won your heart, hasn’t she?” Sienna said, smiling.

Blake crossed her arms, refusing to face her while she was being like this.

She heard a loud sigh on Sienna’s end. “Watch over her then, Blake.”

“What?” Blake said, turning to face her. “You want me to spy on her?” She said, uncomfortable with the idea of betraying Ruby’s trust, and ready to protest it if necessary.

Sienna shook her head, and produced a scroll with her personal seal, the ink and wax still fresh. “If all goes well at sunrise tomorrow, then hand her this scroll when you formally address her.”

Blake eyed the parchment with suspicion, her tail jutting up at it’s intent. “You want me to become part of her court?”

Sienna shrugged. “Why not? You’re clearly the best candidate, having caught the Queen’s fancy, with her affections being returned in kind.” Sienna said, Blake rolling her eyes. “If you find that you’re not suited for the role, then I can replace you, and you can go back to being my Shadow. Consider it a change of pace, or scenery.”

“I am not a diplomat.” Blake said, uneasy. “I… I don’t have the slightest clue about what I’d be doing.”

“Neither did I when I played the part.” Sienna said, quietly.

Blake’s ears perked up.“What?”

Sienna had returned to her papers. “Nothing, nothing. You’ll simply be advising her on issues related to the Faunus, and be providing regular diplomatic reports back to me as necessary. Who better to send to represent the Faunus of Vale than a woman who has fought and bled for them? And you will not _ , just, _ be  _ an advisor _ . All members of the Queen’s court are pledged to protect the Queen and each other, and to follow the Queen into battle if need be.”

“Why not you?” Blake asked. “You’re clearly more experienced in the matter than I am.”

“I have responsibilities here, that prevent me from taking on such a role.” Sienna said. “The responsibilities of the High Leader of the Faunus of Vale cannot exactly be executed from the position of a diplomatic liason.

Sienna then spoke under her breath. “Also, I’m far too old for her. And her mother would disapprove.”

“I see.” Blake sighed, having resigned herself to her fate. “ Wait, what did you mean by that?”

Sienna hid a faint blush. “Nothing, child.”

It did little to alleviate her suspicions. “What did you mean by that?”

* * *

_ Red Wolf Moon, 11/15, 1483 _

The morning after, she’d gotten little sleep. It had not been Ruby’s plan that had her on edge, but  _ Sienna’s. _ Cursed Sienna had been trying to foist more and more responsibilities outside of espionage and infiltration onto her, last night’s plot being the most egregious by far. Her tail whipped back and forth, knocking anything loose on Vale’s streets over from the anxiety such a role would demand of her.

Curse Sienna, and her teasing. She did not like Ruby. Was she cute?  _ Yes,  _ but her interest in her was purely political, as befitting her role. She would not care about how happy the sight of her smiling made her, she would not care about her cute wolf’s ears, just begging to be touched. She would not be thinking about however they were to spend time with each other once she was a part of her court, and she was most certainly not wondering about whether or not a Lycanthrope’s transformation rendered them naked, without clothes upon transforming back.

This was purely a professional relationship, and she did not miss Ilia. 

That much was clear. Right now, she had a plan to focus on, and execute. If she failed, then she would be thrown in the castle keep, though she believed Ruby would do everything in her power to break her out. Knowing this was comforting, and she felt safe with such knowledge.

Ruby’s plan was simple. Ruby would be waiting near the front gate to wait for Blake, and watch as Blake was inevitably denied entry by the castle guard. When proof of the Castle Guard’s bigotry had become undeniable, Ruby would dismiss her guard for the day, and allow her in.

And if Ruby’s authority proved lacking, then she would leave behind a Shadow of hers, and dash off before they noticed.

It  _ would _ be an easy escape from having to play court politics for the forseeable future. It  _ should _ have been easy to cheer for the plan’s demise, to even sabotage the plan to facilitate it’s demise.

But she could not, for she was convinced that she wanted to talk to Ruby because of Sienna. She’d had her feelings regarding her in check until last night. Why had Sienna feel the need to plant these amorous, distracting, unnecessary thoughts inside her head?

As irritating her unwelcome emotions had been this morning, they’d done well to keep her on edge. Enough for her to notice the blond woman obviously tailing her from two city blocks back.

She had long horns gracing her head, with a serpent’s tail hanging where her tailbone would be. Blake surmised her to be a half-dragonborn, or half-lizardfolk, though she would need a closer look to confirm.

From how obviously she was tailing her, she guessed it might be a hit in broad daylight, instructed to either threaten, or kill her in full view of Menagerie.

Blake kept up her pace, opting to keep the woman nestled in the corner of her eye. She would choose the location for their confrontation. 

She led her down an alleyway she herself had familiarity with, littered with wreckage and windowsills she could briskly climb to gain some sort of leverage against her. She would tie her up, ask her questions, and deliver her to Sienna, and be over at Beacon Castle before long. This would not take long.

Her presumed confidence shattered when she lost sight. She spun around, scanning around her wherever she might have been. The woman was gone. Where could she have gone? She should have been  _ right _ there.

She spun around again when her shoulder was prodded. She was a half-dragonborn, with long, flowing locks that fell to her waist, a body that was  _ built _ , the tribal garb she wore tight enough to show off the defined abs at her core.

“Hey there, name’s Yang. I noticed you coming down from the Castle-”

Whoever this ‘Yang’ was, Blake hadn’t any more time for more words. Acting on pure instinct, she threw a punch, squaring her right in the nose.

Blood gushed out from where she impacted, Yang staggering back and holding her nose. “Ow, cripes! Can we just-”

She wasted no time producing her rope dart on her person, and lashing the weapon out at her, the dart whipping around and tying the dazed woman up. At the end of the rope, Blake tugged, the rope tightening around Yang’s person and yanking her into the dirt.

Yang growled against the restraints, the end of Blake’s rope yanked at in her struggle. Blake needed a free hand to produce and charge the wheellock on her person, but Yang proved resilient enough to necessitate both hands on the rope, Yang’s strength enough for Blake to lose her footing.

Blake let go, not wanting to be dragged along with her, and drew her pistol. The rope tore, Yang making quick work of the twine, and standing on her feet, only to gawk at the sight of the firearm. “Are we really doing this?” She huffed, her purple eyes suddenly glowing red, and narrowing at Blake charging the weapon. “Well shit.”

Yang uppercutted the wheellock out of her hands faster than she could pull the trigger, leaving Blake weaponless, and open. Yang took the initiative, slogging Blake straight in her core, staggering her over.

She would not win in a physical slog with a woman that  _ built.  _ She  _ ran _ , turning on her heel and sprinting down the alleyway, emptying out to a modestly busy street, Yang’s protests following her closely behind.

She spotted an open air corner tavern that offered no lodging, but made the  _ richest, deepest,  _ and most flavorful Minestrone in all of Vale proper, and possibly the kingdom itself. She ducked inside, but a great weight descended upon her shoulders, weighing her down and sending her plummeting to the floor. 

“Come on! I’m not even  _ that _ pissed! I just want to-”

She flipped herself over and kneed Yang where her unarmored core was; a mistake, as she might as well have slammed her knee into a brick and mortar wall. It staggered Yang enough for her to break away and stand up on her feet, knocking into a server, a tray with hot bowls of soup at hand.

“Hey Blakey! You know what Sienna said, don’t bring your scuffs in here, alright?” The Hobgoblin tavernkeeper protested. 

Blake had no time to answer. She glassed Yang with a mug of ale, the blond bruiser already back on her feet and looking  _ very  _ unamused. Acting purely on instinct, Blake grabbed the tray from the server, and chucked all three bowls of hot soup straight at her skull.

The first one clocked her straight in the noggin, spilling hot Minestrone all over her clothes. The second was narrowly dodged, the third caught mid-air and sent straight back, squaring Blake right in the forehead, knocking her over and scalding her with hot soup.

Dazed and staring up at the ceiling, Yang’s weight quickly settled on her, her elbow locking her neck against the floor in a deathgrip. It was over. A former Shadow of the White Fang, bested by an admittedly shredded Half-Dragonborn woman, armed with a few bowls of hot soup. 

It would not be a terrible way to go, she considered, to be crushed by her thighs.

“Alright. Blake. That was a good fight, but as much as I was raring for one, I  _ just _ wanted to talk.”

Yang’s words took time to sink in, embarrassment seeping in at how much inconvenience a simple misunderstanding had caused them.

“I’m... not good at talking.” Blake said, Yang leaving just enough leeway for her windpipe to voice her words. She hadn’t the capacity to tell how much she was blushing right now, but if she were forced to guess,  _ bright red. _

“I could tell.” Yang said, flashing her a toothy grin.

“So Blake.” The tavernkeep said, hovering above her with his stern features. “You’re going to pay for the damages again, or what?”

“Put it on my tab.” Blake said.

“You don’t drink.” The tavernkeep rolled his eyes. “Guess I’ll talk to Sienna. Again.” He said, without malice.

“So,  _ now _ do you want to talk?” Yang asked

It wasn’t as if she had a choice. Again. She sighed, resigned to her fate, and determined to enjoy her locale as much as she could for now.

“You want some soup?” Blake offered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was quicker than I'd expected. Hope y'all are okay with me making Sienna a surrogate mother for Blakey. 
> 
> Not sure if Early Modern AU is a thing, so I tagged this as a Medieval AU. But fic straddles the Early Modern European/Late Medieval European Era, with Gunpowder technology a thingy.
> 
> Yes, Catmeleon/Calico will be a thing. I have... plans, heh heh. If you think you know which work I've based Blake and Yang's fight from, be my guest and name it :v I'd... think it's p obvious if you've watched it before.


	5. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (5/10, Ruby)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Accidental Arousal, (One) Fight Scene, Bodily Dysphoria, Anti-Faunus Racism

_ Red Wolf Moon, 11/15, 1483  _

Ruby told Weiss and Goodwitch about the plan early in the morning, before lecture had started, before the bleariness of her eyes had settled. The dread in her step as she went about her morning dailies made ‘not telling them’ an attractive option, but her disappearance from class this morning would raise a search for her faster than she could get to Blake. And with Weiss’s bond with her, and Goodwitch’s flight magic, the prospects of her ploy remaining secret were nil, to none. Better to accept her discovery now and declare her intentions than to risk the mess a three-way misunderstanding would cause.

She’d steeled herself ready for whatever Goodwitch had for her. She had not expected her to remain quiet, without reaction as she explained what had happened yesterday, and what would be happening this morning. Goodwitch, ignoring her, only offered her a withering look, her interests captured by her texts, her scrolls.

“You should have come to me.” That was all Goodwitch had to say, adjusting the enchantment on the lantern, a necessity for the class. Fresh sunlight was out of the question since Weiss’s accommodation.

When Goodwitch did not respond, and when Weiss had not berated her for being so naive as she’d expected, Ruby grew irritated, her tail curling leftward. “Can I go then?” She asked, without patience. 

Goodwitch sighed, her hand steady as she poured Salts into the lantern. Ruby traded a long look at Weiss, her desk attached with hers, who’d been as confused as she was by her seeming inaction.

Ruby stood from her seat, starting off, but when she pulled onto the latch of the door, it shimmered with purple radiance, and would not budge.

“I will go, and take care of this incident. You two will stay put.” Goodwitch said without fanfare, the lantern set down, her satchel slung across her shoulder.

Ruby’s ears rose, her tail twitching, knocking over a stray book from the bookshelf behind her. “Wait, what?”

“You two will stay here while I handle your mess, understood?” Goodwitch said, pertly.

She’d expected to be expressly forbidden, not _replaced._ Indignation boiled at her throat. “Absolutely not.” Ruby said. “I made a promise to Blake. I can, and will handle this myself.”

Goodwitch’s eyes narrowed. “I will not stand idly by and watch helplessly as you recklessly endanger your own rule.”

Ruby swallowed, trying to gather her courage. “And I won’t just sit here and do nothing while my friend needs me. I don’t need protecting from _my own guards.”_

Weiss cleared her throat. “As much as it pains me to admit it, Ruby is right.” She said. “What her guards are being allowed to get away with is ridiculous. It is an absolute abuse of power on their part, and clearly needs to be addressed. And it would not send a good message to the other power bases here in Vale if word gets out Ruby cannot even control her own guard.”

“You underestimate the powers you are combatting.” Goodwitch said. “I understand, Schnee, how you personally feel on these matters.”

_The bonds between her and Weiss grew icy cold._

“But I did not spend the better part of an entire decade looking for Ruby, just for her to for her to tarnish her reign over such a trivial incident.” Goodwitch said.

“A trivial incident?” Weiss asked. “Just out with it. You just don’t care about the Faunus. Is that it?” 

“No.” Goodwitch said. “You must trust me, when I say that I understand how you two are feeling.”

_“Clearly, the greatest empath Vale has ever seen.” Weiss said. It nearly drew out an impertinent laugh from Ruby._

“Let me help.” Ruby said, her tail straightening. “I can do this, if you would just believe in me, Miss Goodwitch.”

Goodwitch only spared her a derisive look. “You don’t even have a coherent plan. Tell me, why should I allow you to go out there and utterly humiliate yourself?”

“I have a plan.” Ruby said, incredulous. “I have already told you-”

“A _plan of action._ ” Goodwitch said. “Tell me, what do you expect to do once you’re out there?”

Ruby’s ears fell as she lost her words. “Uhm, well, it is easy. I will just use my Queenly authority to get them to back off, and there! Everything will be resolved.”

Goodwitch was not sparing. “Pathetic.” She said, shaking her head.

_“Ruby, she’s right about that.” Weiss said. “You’ll need to know what you’re doing once you’re out there-”_

“I don’t need this right now.” Ruby said, giving another try at the latchkey door. It finally gave way, Ruby giving one last look at Goodwitch, approval, or no approval, who made no effort to stop her. “You can’t stop me.”

There was a flicker of some lost, some sorrowful emotion in Goodwitch’s eyes. “I know.” Goodwitch said.

Ruby stormed out of the class, each step she took heavy with purpose, even as her personal sense of direction was lacking. Weiss had followed, with a snap of the fingers at each window ushering their draperies to cover each source of sunlight. For them, it was fine, for they could both see in darkness. As a matter of fact, why did they even bother keeping these useless windows uncovered during the day when it would always inconvenience them?

“Ruby, can you wait for a bit?” Weiss said, briskly as her walk.

“Blake is waiting for me. I am not stopping.” Ruby said, the fire of adrenaline carrying her, her tail swinging around in broad, heavy strokes.

“I just need to speak with you-”

“I don’t need you to speak with me about anything Weiss.” Ruby said, double-taking at the hallway they were passing through. Weren’t they just here? “Blake might be here and I am not keeping her waiting while she could be threatened?

“At the very least, could you allow me to lead?” Weiss said, her temper breaking. “I’d think we’d get there faster if the one leading us weren’t lost.” The sarcasm was thick in her voice.

Ruby pinkened. “Very well then.” She said, her throat dry.

They made actual progress through the relentless maze of Beacon Castle with Weiss leading. How exactly did Weiss memorize the layout in two weeks? What did she have that Ruby did not? 

“I don’t think you’re stupid for doing this, you know.” Weiss said, as they passed through the atrium.

The adrenaline carrying her, the joy of defiance withered away, leaving behind only pink embarrassment. “You... don’t?”

_Weiss felt truthful with her words._

“Unless you mess it up _that_ badly, then I believe you are doing the right thing.” Weiss said.

Ruby’s throat fell dry. “Oh. Uhm.” She was not used to this. She focused on the clicking and clacking of her and Weiss’s boots against the stone floor, and tried her best not to let the elation from a compliment from Weiss show.

“I came alongside you, so I could help you.” Weiss said, regarding her shyly. It was the same sort of shyness that they encountered whenever they sat together, trying to eat, or study properly together. “That, and I really did not feel like being left alone with Miss Goodwitch in there.”

“That would have been very awkward.” Ruby said.

Weiss scoffed. “You think?” She stopped her in her tracks just before they existed out to the main courtyard. “Now. It is… humbling to admit this, but I do not have the slightest fathom of how Valean politics functions.” Weiss said, placing a cold hand at the sensitive small of Ruby’s back.

Ruby’s tail shot up. “Oh. Uhm.”

“Stand up straight, Ruby.” Weiss said. “No guard will ever respect a queen slouching like you are. Right now, they think you’re still a child, a toy they have to coddle.” 

“I’m not.” Ruby said, firmly.

“Your guards are gossipy hens. They certainly seem to believe that you are.” Weiss said, pressing her fingers at the base of her throat. “The manner in which you speak is terribly awkward. As if you’re unsure about what you have to say.”

She was discomforted at the physical contact, but she was insecure, unsure at Weiss’s words. It wasn’t as if she had a choice. Her voice would always be like this because of the body she’d been given at birth, and what her clan chose to regard her by. Goodwitch’s treatments could only do so much for her body, and for her voice, it did not do much at all.

“You don’t need to learn how to project your voice right now to earn your guard’s respect.” Weiss said. “I’ll instruct you on how to do so some other time. But if you talk like a confused little puppy, then that’s all they’re going to think of you as.”

“Right.” Ruby said.

Ruby’s breath hitched as Weiss handled her tail, sifting her fingers through the delicate fur. “And please, minimize your anthropomorphic features. The more wolf-like you seem, the more they’ll see you more as an animal who has an _agenda_. Sincerely Ruby, have you ever considered trimming your tail?” Enunciating her point, she yanked her tail.

Ruby yipped loudly, her face burning a sudden bright pink. She bit, cutting into her lip to contain the moan; it still bled out into the bond they had with each other. 

Weiss regarded her, concerned. “Uhm, what was that?” Her voice was pleasant sounding. Had it always been? Had Weiss’s lips been this delicate before? Why couldn’t she stop looking at them? Had Beacon Castle always been this… warm?

Her wolf’s ears, her tail curled down submissively as the knickers underneath her dress strained to contain how hard she was down there. Would it be so terrible to ask Weiss for a hug right now? They were friends, right? Soon, maybe more. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t fantasized about the saccharinely sweet idea, a Queen and her bodyguard, in love. Her heart throbbed at the thought.

Weiss did not sweat, for she was a Vampire. It was terribly unfair, really. What she wouldn’t give to smell her right now, underneath all her perfumes, to be lost in her scent, terribly aroused-

“Oh. Uhm. I’m sorry.” Weiss said, her eyes widened to comic proportions, her face almost as red as she imagined herself to be. Weiss had noticed. 

“Please. Don’t touch me there again.” Ruby said, still needy and aching down there.

Weiss rubbed her hands together, whispering an _Erfrierung_ _(Frostbite)_ spell into her fingers. “Uhm, here. My hands are cold, so that might cool you off?”

She buried her face with Weiss’s hands, not nearly cold enough to take the half the edge off. She was still uncomfortably aroused, with her bodily discomfort at the forefront of her mind. She hated being like this, being unsure whether to cry, feel disgusting, or yell at Weiss, so she opted for all three.

“I thought you were just an ass when you first came here.” Ruby said, fire still in her belly, eyes facing the ground. “Everything since then’s just confused me, but I think I know what you are now. You’re an absolute pervert.”

Weiss burned bright red, standing to her feet, indignant. “I am not!”

Ruby stood to meet her, her adrenaline returned. “You’ve ‘accidentally’ peeped on me a couple of times, and now this.” Ruby said, her eyes wet, her knees wobbly from her bodily disgust. “I know my body is weird, and gross, and isn’t like yours okay? I didn’t need you to remind me.”

Weiss’s indignance withered. “Ruby, no. I wasn’t thinking that.” Weiss said.

The bond between them spoke for her. It was a half-lie.

She wiped at her tears with her sleeve, eyes narrowing at Weiss, daring her to stop her. “I am not in the mood to deal with this right now. If you’re going to watch me, then do it without getting burned by the sun, but don’t perv on me, okay?” She turned on her heel, storming the courtyard. Weiss did not stop her.

The glare of the sun as she stepped outside blindsighted her, dizzying her on her feet. It winded her, her vision struggling to adjust to the light. 

There was a gathering around the front gate, drawing out a number of guardsmen all meant to be stationed around the courtyard. There were eight of them, all of them with their equipment in a state of dishevelment, some of them lacking even proper armor. 

_“Your guardsmen are pathetic. They hold onto those spears like they’re brooms.” Weiss said, shy._

_“I’ll deal with it later.” Ruby said, impatient._

The exception to this general state of dishevelment was the Captain of the Guard, who’d introduced himself to her at the start of the month. She remembered little about him, save for him being a Dwarf, and his overconfidence, his gruff, discouraging demeanor.

In the midst of it all, the object of the guardsmen’s attention was Blake, who’d noticed her, acknowledging her with a glance.

“If you would all let me explain, I have business being here.” Blake said, unfrazzled by the men enclosing her, her tail sashaying around.

“You’ve got four ears. Are you deaf? No pass, no entry.” The captain of the guard said.

“If you would have bothered to let me explain, I have a pass.” Blake said, producing the scroll from her handbag, offering it.

The captain swiped it out of her hands, granting it only a passing read, finished too quickly to have actually read it. “Pass is a forgery. No pass, no entry.”

“The Lord Minister of the Vale’s Services had the pass signed himself.” Blake said. “I witnessed it myself, and you can too, if you’d perform the arduous task of just reading.”

The guards laughed at her, Blake ungiving in her expressions. “Fancy me, I also just had dinner with Torchwick myself. He remembered your face, girl, and he told me to give you a message. He says, no.” The captain said, walking into her reach. “Take your forgery, and leave with your tail in between your legs while you can, girl.”

“If you’re so sure it’s a forgery, then lock me up.” Blake said, her voice low, daring him to act. “Forgery of official documents merits a greater punishment than just showing up at the gates and asking to be let in. I’m sure you lot would relish the opportunity to torture me.”

“Be quiet, kip.” The captain said, backing away. “Don’t tempt me.”

Blake stepped forward, the captain and his men backing with each inch Blake took. “Your words have nothing behind them captain. Let me through.”

“You want to run that by me again girly?” The captain said, his hands fumbling for his cutlass. “Seems to me you’re the only one here who’s protesting.”

_“Ruby, now.” Weiss said._

Blake made no motion for any weapon on her person. “Touch me,” Blake said, her voice a low whisper, “and I’ll cut you into a bloody pulp.”

“Everybody wait!” Ruby tried, her voice muted by the unsheathing of cold steel.

Blake drew her blade quicker, raising a cutlass to parry the blade that had leapt at her face, knocking the weapon out of the captain’s hands. Their duel had ended just as it had begun. 

The captain cradled his swollen hand, short legs scrambling behind the safety of his men. “Men! Deal with her!”

_“Ruby! Help her!” Weiss said._

The other guardsmen charged forth to meet her, their ranks erratic, their momentum careening to a halt at Blake drawing some sort of weapon on her person. She waved her weapon at them, the guardsmen too afraid to try approaching her.

The weapon fired, it’s wheel mechanisms turning, discharging a thick, wispy smoke. It shot off loud enough for two of the guardsmen to break, fleeing from their ranks in terror. Unlike a crossbow, no projectile shot through, and it did not appear as though anyone was hit.

_“Weiss, what was that?” Ruby asked._

_“I… have no idea.” Weiss said._

She gave the men no time to collect their bearings. She drew out a rope with a dagger at its end, whipping it at the forthmost guard. The rope lashed around his sabaton, tying him to her. She pulled on the rope, teetering him over to the ground, where he screamed and writhed and tried to collect his bearings, to no use.

Having collected their senses, those guards who remained charged again. She let go of her rope, and dove off the left end of the bridge, the guard scrambling after her, looking over the bridge, trying to call out wherever she was.

From the right end of the bridge, Blake rematerialized out of thin air. She lashed another rope dart around a guardsman’s leg, and before he’d noticed, she pushed him off the bridge, tying a knot around the guardrailing to keep him suspended over the city, screaming bloody murder. The rest happened too quickly for accurately discern; Blake took another one of the guards by the neck, thrashing his head against the railing, his helmet denting with each blow. Holding onto dead weight, she hurled the guard at the three remaining guardsmen, knocking the lot of them over, those trying to pick themselves back up on their feet dispatched with the blunt end of her scimitar.

_“So who am I supposed to help again?” Ruby asked._

_“Absolute spineless whelps, all of them.” Weiss said. “What exactly are you waiting for, Ruby? Help her before the situation escalates further.”_

“Right. Right.” Ruby swallowed, gritting her teeth. When she’d found her courage, she approached the captain, who’d been disarmed, and knocked flat on the ground.

“Captain.” Ruby said, feeling Weiss’s advice flow through her. “I don’t believe you heard me the first time, so I will be kind enough to say this again. What exactly is going on here?”

The captain, panicking at the sight of Ruby, rolled over and stood on his feet quickly, almost teetering over to the ground again in his efforts. “Milady, what exactly is the meaning of this?”

“Captain, control your men, please.” Ruby said, as if Weiss was speaking with her. He called off his men, though there didn’t seem to be a need for it; they’d all lost the will to fight already. “This,” Ruby gestured to Blake, who’d seemed to not have even spent a breath dispatching her men, “is my friend. I’m well aware you’ve been denying her access to the castle grounds, even when she has a perfectly legitimate pass.”

He raked Blake with his repugnant glare, with no attempt to hide his contempt. She returned the contempt in kind by kicking back his longsword, knocked from his hands.“Your friend? Milady, I’m sure you’re mistaken. Allow me to just remove her from the premises quickly-”

“What I want,” Ruby said, loud enough for all in the courtyard to hear, “is for you all to let my friend, and her kind, on the castle premises when they have such a pass.”

The captain stared at her for a moment, unsure how to address this, until he set his jaw and spoke. “Milady, allow me to be frank.” He said, his voice suddenly gruff, and hostile. “Exactly why do would you wish _her_ presence here, on castle grounds?”

_“Be firm, but uncompromising.” Weiss said. “Do not falter Ruby.”_

Weiss’s presence kept her grounded, more sure of herself. “Because she’s my friend. And what I say, goes, for my guard.”

Her voice echoed through the castle courtyard, loud enough for all guards to hear. The captain regarded her unkindly, held back by what she presumed to be her title. 

“Very well.” The captain said. “I’ll make an exception for her.”

Though the concession was gratifying, she sucked in a breath to keep herself firm. “All faunus. As long as they have the pass, of course.”

The captain gawked in abject horror. “Your Majesty-!”

  
“Is there something wrong, captain?” Ruby asked.

The captain gritted his teeth,. “No, milady.”

_“Keep him aware that his leash will be tight. He looks as if he wants nothing less than to defy your will the first opportunity he sees.” Weiss said._

“I’ll be watching, captain.” Ruby said, Weiss’s voice speaking through her. “Be careful not to let your position get to your head.”

“Of course, milady.” Begrudgingly, he bowed, a display of subservience. The sight of it, power, total deference to her will, felt completely alien to her.

_“Don’t let it go to your head, Ruby.”_ _  
_

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Dismissed, captain.”

Thoroughly embarrassed, and stripped of his discretion, the Captain slipped back to wherever his post was. Though Ruby wanted nothing more than to hug her, there were watching eyes, now that Blake was an object of intrigue. She would restrain her affections for when they were alone.

“You did well.” Blake said, her voice steady, the slightest hint of a smirk curling at her lips. “Thank you.”

Ruby flashed her a smile, inflated from success. “Did I do better than you expected?” Ruby said.

_A flicker of insecurity twitched at her from afar._

“I think I’ll keep my judgement to myself.” Blake said, mild amusement flashing in her eyes at Ruby’s pouting. Blake’s ears twitched.“Hey. You’re okay?” Blake said, concern in her voice.

She didn’t know what that meant until her tail flattened, her knees buckling, sending her to the concrete at her feet.

She fell into the grip of two arms, strong arms. “Oh. Uhm. Hello there.” Ruby said.

_That flicker of insecurity twisted at her heart, dredging up little emotions that twisted and morphed into deep, drugging pain._

“My legs aren’t working.” Ruby said, her legs all wobbly.

“I could tell.” Blake said, curtly. Was she uncomfortable with this arrangement? “Which way to?”

It dawned on her how awkward their positions were, Ruby blushing bright-pink. She nudged her to the hallway where Weiss was waiting, visibly irritated, and impatient for their return.

Ruby hadn’t the faintest idea of whatever Weiss’s emotions were. Jealousy? Self-hatred? Contempt? “You two kept me waiting long enough.” Weiss said, regarding Ruby with concern. “Are you okay? Can I take Ruby from you?”

“I’m fine Weiss, really.” Ruby said. Weiss’s expression fell, hurt by her words. She regretted what she’d said, but Blake’s presence was distracting.

Blake gave Weiss a blank stare, her lips curling up slightly. “I’ve got her.”

Weiss narrowed at her. “Are you sure? I’m well used to handling her-”

“As am I.” Blake said, her tail swaying around, playing. “She falls a lot.”

Ruby flushed pink, her ears drooping in protest. 

_“What, was I not formal enough for you Weiss?” Ruby said._ _  
_

Weiss regarded her with surprise. 

_“No. You… did well, Ruby.” Weiss said, reluctantly._

Ruby’s pink flush grew even brighter at the compliment. 

A cough from Blake broke the trance that had formed between the two. “I hadn’t known they allowed women into the Atlessian Knights.” Blake said, coldly staring at Weiss.

Weiss regarded her, still reserved. “Not anymore. You’re… Ruby’s friend.”

“A faunus, I know.” Blake said, coldly. “I am one.”

Weiss scoffed. “That wasn’t what I was thinking.” Weiss said, far too quickly to come off as the truth.

_They felt discomfort. Anxiety. Guilt._

“I was just wondering what business someone like you would have here in the first place.” Weiss said.

“Same for someone from Atlas. But what do you mean someone like me?” Blake said, her voice low.. 

“It… just would have been unsafe here for someone of your kind. Case in point, the trouble you had with Ruby’s guards.” Weiss said. “I’m just concerned for your well being, is all.”

Blake regarded her with those cold, analyzing eyes, keeping herself reserved. “If that’s true, then thank you. But I can take care of myself.”

Weiss nodded. “I won’t doubt that.”

Ruby spoke, desperate to break the tension between the two. “So, Blake, Weiss. Weiss, Blake. Weiss is my-”

_A sharp, painful tug at their bond kept Ruby from completing her sentence. “Ruby!” Weiss said._

_“Ow! Why?” Ruby glared._

_Weiss crossed her arms at her. “Information is power, Ruby. You were going to inform her that I was your familiar.”_

_Ruby’s ears pouted at her. “But Blake’s my friend! I don’t want to lie to her like that.”_

_“Ruby Rose, let this be a lesson to you. In the game of politics, there are no friends, only mutual interests.”_

_Ruby’s ears fell. She’d almost fired back at her that this meant Weiss did not consider her a friend, but this would mean admitting that she was growing more and more attached to her._

_Weiss’s mouth fell, as Ruby’s embarrassment bled through into the connection, Weiss able to interpret what it meant. “You… wanted to see me as a friend?”_

“Is there… something between you two?” Blake asked, innocently.

“No!” Both Ruby and Weiss said, flushing bright-pink.

“I’ll… take your word for it.” Blake said.

Ruby wiggled around in Blake’s arms, her legs wanting back on solid ground. “So uhm, being carried is nice and all, but could you set me down before I lose my sense of where the ground is?” 

Blake blinked, acknowledging the request slowly. “I’m quite enjoying carrying you in my arms. Ruby.”

Weiss glared at her. I’m sure your arms are growing tired.”

“I’m sure I’m the one who knows my arms best.” Blake said.

“That is beside the point.” Weiss said. “Besides, you don’t have any more business here, and with you two just canoodling out in full view, you two are sure to attract more ire from Ruby’s guards.” 

“Well, looks like I’ve got the queen right where I want her.” Blake said. Ruby flushed bright red; this could not be going where she thought it was going. “What about you? You seem desperate to see me out.”

“No!” Weiss said. She was a terrible liar. “I just want to speak to Ruby, privately.”

Ruby burned even redder. 

“Say it then.” Blake said. “You want the queen all to yourself, is that it?”

“No, I have had no such… lecherous thoughts towards her.” Weiss said.

_She could not help but feel disappointed, hearing that._

Ruby thrashed around in Blake’s arms, without result. “Can’t I get a say in this?” She whined.

They both ignored her, staring the other down. Weiss, with her jet-black eyes, Blake, with her tail whipping around to and fro. “To repudiate what you said, I do have business here, _Weiss_.” Blake said. She set Ruby down, and brought out another scroll from her handbag. “I’m here to deliver a message, meant for Ruby.”

Ruby stretched out her feet, her ears perking up. “People can send me messages?”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Of course, you dolt. You are the queen, after all.”

“Right, right.” Ruby said. “Well? Open it up, let me see.”

They read through the letter together, Weiss explaining the bulk of it’s substance to her, Blake making no judgement of her illiteracy. Weiss’s narration dropped off toward the end. “This… Sienna is asking for _you_ to become part of Ruby’s court?”

Ruby’s ears perked up. “You mean we get to spend more time together?”

“Why you!?” Weiss gawked, rolling the scroll back up and tossing it to the floor. “Why would this Sienna, think she can just hand-pick your court members? Just what exactly does she think you have to offer us?”

Before Ruby could channel her disapproval, Goodwitch materialized right above their triad, giving the three of them a scare, Ruby’s jelly legs crumpling to the ground. “Whatever Sienna has to say, has to go through me first, children.” Goodwitch said.

_“So that's what that feels like.” Blake said under her breath, murmuring something about how much she hated teleportation spells._

“I take it you resolved the incident?” Goodwitch asked, dryly.

Ruby gave Goodwitch a nod. “Absolutely, Miss Goodwitch.” She said, picking herself up on her feet while Weiss rolled her eyes.

“Knew you were safer in my arms.” Blake said, catching her breath, her cat’s tail swaying to and fro erratically.

“You were scared too!” Ruby protested. 

Goodwitch sighed, turning to face Weiss. “You’re not very subtle with your emotions Weiss. Out with it.”

From the look on Weiss’s face, Goodwitch might as well have given her another scare. “I was just reflecting on the fact that you weren’t there to help.”

Goodwitch regarded her coolly. “Because, _Weiss,_ it wasn’t a question on whether or not Ruby _could_ do it. I was more concerned with the potential ramifications of such a brash act.”

“I helped Blake.” Ruby said, straightening her posture. “There wasn’t any choice.”

“And you ended up with four of your guardsmen in the infirmary. Each of which, I will be tending to, and I will have to do my best and explain to them why their queen chose her friend over the safety of her own guardsmen.” Goodwitch said, snapping her crop against her boot. “There were other ways to help your friend, through means outside of direct confrontation. Be wary, Ruby Rose. Though you may be queen, a disgruntled army can just as easily turn on you in the blink of an eye.”

“You speak of such things as if you have experience.” Weiss said, without her previous malice.

Goodwitch only spared her a passing acknowledgement. “I have.” She cleared her throat. “Now, Blake.” She gave a steely look at Blake, who’s ears perked up. “I am Ruby’s caretaker, entrusted with her by her late mother. Your friendship with Ruby, and whatever Sienna has to say aside, all of Ruby’s decisions must go through me.”

_“Save for your little stunt today.” Weiss said, in a snarky tone._

“High Leader Sienna told me, that if you were being difficult,” Blake said, producing another scroll, this one shimmering, the words radiating with a purple light, “then I should give you this.”

Goodwitch acknowledged the scroll, opening it up to scan over its contents. It did not take long for her complexion to suddenly burn a shade of bright pink.

“Are you all right?” Ruby asked.

“Yes, of course.” She said, her voice strained, hushed. “If you three will excuse me, I’ll be reading this letter, _in my private chambers.”_

“But wait, what about Blake?” Ruby asked, receiving no answer in turn, save for the clacking of Goodwitch’s heels. “What do you think was wrong with her?” 

“I haven’t the slightest idea.” Weiss said, just as confused as she was.

The three left to their devices once more, Ruby looked Blake up and down, grinning at her.

Blake seemed caught off guard by Ruby’s sudden interest in her. “What?” She asked, a bit shier than usual.

“Looks like you get to move in?” Ruby asked, Weiss keeping her thoughts reserved, though looking uncomfortable with the idea.

“I… suppose.” Blake said, startling at sudden bodily contact from Ruby when she glomped her with an embrace. “Hey, I don’t think you’re strong enough to carry me.”

“I can try?” Ruby asked.

“Honestly I think you’re just going to hurt yourself more than you can hurt me.” Blake said, returning her affections.

Weiss looked as if she had something to say, but stopped herself.

“Wait, Blake?” Ruby asked.

“Yes?” Blake said.

“Did you ever get that one guard you hung back onto the bridge?”

Blake shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”

“Blake!” Ruby and Weiss said.

“The rope will hold?” Blake said, innocently. “Someone will get them up, eventually. Right?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then there was a Blakey. Yang shall return again next chapter.
> 
> If you're dying of anticipation for some good, good Whiterose content, it'll come likely in two chapters, once Ruby and Weiss stop bickering, be honest with themselves, and figure out what they want from each other.


	6. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (6/10, Blake)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time around, mainly because I chose to split the Blake chapter into two because Writing Blake was taking forever, and the scenes kept getting longer and longer. I wanted to get a chapter out before the year ended. The next chapter will be a bit longer. Apologies.
> 
> CW: Accidental Misgendering (It’s noone’s fault), Difficulties Expressing Emotions

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/17, 1483_

Beatrice’s ‘tavern’ was an intimate squeeze, with dirt flooring, furnished with rickety wooden tables and chairs quarter-eaten by termites. There was little in the way of entertainment, not even a proper bar where one would sit and order spirits. Drinks could only be ordered with the meal of the day, and they were to dine together in candlelight, left little space which they could divy up between the two of them.

“So.” Yang flashed her a flirty grin, with her sharp, jagged teeth. “You come here often?”

“You’ve got until sundown to make your case.” Blake said, savoring another spoonful of the _Hachee,_ a tender beef and onion stew, the savory, delicate flesh giving way at every bite. “I’m to return to the castle to help Queen Ruby study for her lessons.”

“So you got the part after all?” Yang asked, her optimism abound, and admirable. She still suspected her of having some ulterior motive, something Yang would have ample reason to hide from her. If Yang were some conniving artist, she was no ordinary vagabond. 

“Yes. But you’re still going to have to explain to me why exactly you’re so convinced The House of Rose knows about your brother.”

“Straight to the point, are we?” Yang said. She frowned, Blake spooning up another portion of stew. From her satchel, Yang produced a bundle of letters, the parchment weathered by time, the ink faded alongside. “Here. The letters are all addressed to Summer Rose. She used to be the Queen of Vale, right? And it wasn’t one-way. Queen Summer sent, I think, half those letters, if not more, straight to my mom via private messenger.”

Her slitted eyes raked through the letters quickly, lacking the context to decipher most of the contents. Tonally, the letters engulfed a wide spectrum of emotions. Cordial, resentful, longing, melancholy. Each letter was penned with a lingering remorse, inked with the blood of wounds that could never heal, even with the passage of time withering all else. 

There was a select word that cropped up then and there, always etched onto the parchment with dread; _Salem._ It was a name that she’d caught wind of years ago, when she was still a Shadow of the White Fang, under Adam. She knew little of _Salem_ herself, the White Fang coming to an end before she could become anything more than a tool for their ends. Only that the name itself invoked fear in Adam, enough for her former mentor’s ‘unshakable’ conviction to waver. 

At the tail end of the stack of letters, her tail froze at the mention of her mother’s name. _Kali._ A few sentences after, _Sienna._

“You okay there, Blake?” Yang asked.

She folded up the last letter back into its covering. “The lettering and the seals… appeared authentic. I think that should get you past the front gate, but you’ll still need to confirm your bloodline.”

“You want my blood?” Yang asked. 

“That’s a method of doing so, but one of many. What I could do, is take a clear look at your magic circuits.”

“My... what now?”

She held back her tongue, curling up her tail to help keep her patience in line. “I’m going to simplify this so you can understand. Magic circuits are what conducts the magical energy of our environment into our bodies. The magic circuits channel this magical energy into a form we can actually use.”

Yang blushed, her eyes darting away from hers. “I… don’t know much magic. Just whatever my mom taught me.”

“That’s irrelevant.” Blake said. “Magic circuits pass down through bloodline. They’ll manifest in your body regardless of whether you’re a girl or not, and regardless of how versed you are with magic. If you really are related by blood to the House of Rose, I’ll just need you to cast something basic for me. Could you do that?”

“Course I can.” Yang said, with a confident grin. She balled up her right hand, forming a claw, a mote of fire flaring up in her grip. The sight of it riled up their fellow taverngoers, gawking and panicking at their table. 

“Not right now!” Blake said, grappling her arm and pushing it down.

“Shit, sorry.” Yang said, closing her fist and putting out the flame. “I thought-”

“Yes, I know.” Blake said, hiding her face in her hands. “I’m bad with words.”

“Hey, hey!” A Kobold kitchen hand piped up from the kitchen. “Send your food back to the kitchen if you want it warmed up again. Otherwise, keep your magic in your pants, or keep out!”

Yang flashed the kitchen hand a smile. “Sorry, sorry. Instincts acted up. Nothing but smiles from this table; I promise.”

The kitchenhand, unamused and not smiling, grumbled something about her fellow dragonfolk before retreating back into the kitchen.

“So, guessing that didn’t look good.” Yang said, an uneasy tension settling between them after her gaffe.

“If I wanted to do it that way, I’d need you and the Queen side-by-side at first. They’re like the veins underneath your skin.” Blake said, pressing at a purple vein at her wrist. “Isn’t feasible to memorise their design from just a look.”

Yang curled her lips at the groping of her wrist. “You sure this’ll work Blake? Or was this a way for you to get close to me?”

Her ears rose, in questioning. “Excuse me?”

Yang rolled her eyes. “Nothing, nothing. You’re sure the letters will get me into the castle.”

She took a moment to herself, before answering. “Maybe. No guarantees.”

  
  


Yang leaned back in her chair, her sharp teeth gritting. “No guarantees? You’ve got to give me something Blake. I am not going to get the runaround, after how far I’ve come.”

“I’m… that’s all I can do for you.” Blake said. It was suffocating, not knowing what her responsibilities were, what she could do. “I think the letters will do. Maybe. I don’t… know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Yang asked, her voice demanding. 

She wanted to stand up and just leave, because she certainly did not need to deal with this, and just take whatever she had lying down. But she was confused; she’d been confused for so long, after the White Fang, even as Sienna had tried to find her more… bureaucratic work, she’d never known what to do, how to be satisfied with it all. And then Yang had just come… barreling into her life like this, and though Blake knew she could just dismiss her, and never see of her again, there was something in the way Yang spoke, and how she seemed to approach everything that kept drawing her back. 

“I… don’t know.” Blake said, her ears flattening, her voice raspy, near silent.

Yang softened at her pithering around. “Oh. Shit, I’m sorry. You kept acting all distant when we were talking, I-”  
  


“It’s okay.” Blake said. “Just my emotions failing me.”

Yang tilted her head at her. “Fail you? How the hell do your emotions just, _‘fail’_ you?”

The answer came to her, drilled into her head by a lifetime of training. “They fail you whenever you let them control you. When they cloud your judgement, get in the way, and keep you from doing what you need to do.”

“Get in the way? They’re not two-bit small time raiders Blake, they’re emotions. They’re not roadblocks that need to be removed so you can move forward. And it’s not like you’re clean on this either. What do you have to say about your own emotions, ‘failing you?’”

“That was a momentary lapse of control. I’m not saying that I don’t have these weaknesses. Just that I know how to turn these weaknesses off to do whatever I need to do, when the time calls for it.”

  
  


“And I’m guessing that for you, that’s all the time, right?”

Blake regarded her confusedly. “What?”

“I don’t know much about you, but it makes sense that if this is your philosophy or code or whatever, then whatever the heck you have to do, you’re always doing it.”

Blake frowned, starting a rebuttal. Her words failed her, leaving her without much to say. “It’s not that I don’t know how to feel emotions.” Blake said. 

“Well, on my end, Miss Troubadour, it seems like you think being all stiff and distant comes off as suave.” Yang said, her wide smile returning. “Am I wrong?”

“Suave?” Blake asked. 

“Flirting.” Yang said. “Tell me you at least know what flirting means.”

Blake frowned, but answered seriously. “Again, it’s a tool that I can use to get whatever I want, whenever the situation calls for it.”  
  


“Unbelievable.” Yang said. “Blake, flirting isn’t an emotion. It’s something you do whenever you feel like it.” She took her hand into hers, and brought it close to her lips. “Like right now. You’d register this as flirting, right? Please tell me you do.”

Blake pulled away her hand. “You’re just using it as a means to an end. A tool, to help ingratiate yourself to me so I’ll let you in.”

“So this means you’ve thought about me, ingratiating myself onto you?” Yang said.

Blake glared at her. “That is not what that word meant, and you know it.”

Yang shrugged. “Whatever. And just for the record, I flirted with you, because I think you’re cute.”

She bit her lip, trying to keep down the pink blush, not wanting Yang to get to her. 

  
  


“I just like to ride my emotions out whenever they happen.” Yang said, regarding her seriously this time. “I don’t like thinking about my emotions as if they’re tools, because that’s _boring,_ Blake. Hell, every time I think about how I just up and left my Clan back in Mistral, I get terrified over the thought that my Mom might be coming after me to drag me back to the clan. But you know what? I’m fine with that, because that’s what makes life _great_.”

It wasn’t that the very idea of entertaining Yang’s words was so terrible. She’d known for so long, that how she’d been raised, who she’d become from half a lifetime of service to the White Fang was… atypical, compared to how normal humanoids regarded life, and the confusing, sticky emotions that came with it.

“If you’d like me to show you,” Yang said, offering a hand, and an inviting, wide smile that made her warm, “then I’d be happy to.”

“I… think we should return back to my questions for you.” Blake said. She did not like how… vulnerable this conversation was making her. “And please, take them seriously this time.”

Disappointment showed on Yang, who held up her hands in innocence. “I’ve worked three months for an awfully cranky Wood Elf harbormaster because I needed the _Hyperpyrons_ to book a ship here to Vale. I know when I’m being interrogated for a work opening, and this isn’t it.”

“This isn’t a work opening.” Blake said. “But please, take this seriously.”

“I have.” Yang said, frowning at her. “I meant every word I said.”

Blake’s ears fell. “I didn’t mean to insinuate-”

“Just ask your questions.” Yang asked, without disappointment, or… anything in particular. The conversation was hollow, and it was not what she’d wanted.

“Where are you from?” Blake asked. It was as good of a first start as any.

“Mistral.” Yang said. “Isle of Taurica, in the Great Anima Sea.”

“I don’t know much about Mistral.” Blake said. “I’ve never been to.”

“It’s beautiful.” Yang said, her hands inching closer to hers. “The waters there are always so warm. Weather there’s always perfect nine moons out of the year. Food there’s great. Light. Doesn’t make you feel stuffed like an Atlessian stew does, and everything there’s just so… relaxed. And whenever you’re close to the sea, there’s something there that makes you... want to just get in there.”

“This isn’t an attempt at flirting, is it?” Blake said.

“Cripes Blake, I-” She stopped herself, and smiled. “Okay, okay. You got me. I’m from one of the Tantan clans there, by the way. Clan Branwen.”

“Yet you chose to come all the way here to Vale. What brought you all the way here?”

“I had a fight with… the clan head. Grazing lands were scarce, so some of the heads of the Clan wanted to start raiding Mistralian villages on the mainland. Some of them even suggested we bring back slaves to sell on the Taurica markets. I knew I couldn’t stop them, so I packed up my things, and ran. Tipped off a _Komes_ who looked like he gave a damn, and I worked for three months making ships to make enough coin for a ship to Vale.”

“Where’ve _you_ been, by the way?” Yang asked. “I figured you’ve traveled the world and all, from first impressions.”

Blake hesitated before answering. “Atlas, and Vale. That’s about it.”

Yang whistled. “Atlas isn’t a great place, from what I’ve heard.”

“It was… for business.” Blake said, her spoon clattering against the now emptied bowl. “I… should go. I’ll hand over the letters and do my best to convince Goodwitch, Ruby’s tutor, to let me bring you to the palace with an official summons.”

“You’re just going to go? It’s not even close to sundown yet.” Yang said.

“And do what?” Blake asked. 

Yang shrugged. “Do… anything, I guess. You’ve lived here longer than I have; you know more about this city than I do, clearly.”

“I don’t… know.” Blake said, fumbling around for any reason to refuse.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Yang said. “You’re awkward, but I don’t think this means you haven’t the slightest idea about having fun. You like jesting with words. You clearly loved that bowl of stew you just devoured right in front of my eyes, and you clearly care about your appearance, from what I’m looking at right now.” Yang said, her eyes raking up and down Blake’s body. 

Not even the dim lighting of the tavern could hide her blush.

“~Hey there.~ Finally I’ve piqued something inside of you.”

“You haven’t piqued anything inside of me.” Blake said, harshly.

“Hey, if I went too far with the teasing, I’m sorry.” Yang said, having switched to approaching this seriously. The apology sounded sincere enough for her to stay, and listen to whatever she had to say. “Just… wanted to extend the offer.”

“It’s fine.” Blake said. “Really, it is.”

Yang smiled, reaching out for Blake’s hand, but stopping herself. Blake frowned; even with how brief their contact had been, she’d grown to miss her touch. “Well, it’s still an open invitation. Speaking of which, how exactly are we going to meet up again?”

Blake’s ears fell. “I’m not sure about how my days will go anymore. I think…” She stopped herself, before rummaging around in her handbag, producing from it two smooth, flat stones with the symbol of a claw mark engraved on each. “These are Sending Stones that I have from… an old master I used to apprentice under. If you attune to the pair, we’ll be able to communicate over distances with these stones through messages.”

Yang’s eyes glowed at the sight. “We’ll be able to speak with each other?”

Blake reluctantly shrugged. “Yes, though attuning them for that purpose would take more time. I would… prefer written messages, if you’re able.”

Yang gave Blake a big, wide smile. “Yeah, I know how to write common. One of the best things my mom ever did for me a while ago…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing from a Blakey POV is... difficult, at best. If there are any criticisms, I am very willing to listen. I'm going to work other half of the Blake Chapter and post it next as my project for the week, so hopefully, an update will come soon.
> 
> Happy Holidays y'all, and thank y'all so much for the support y'all have been giving me. Really did not expect the amount of support for this fic.


	7. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (7/10, Blake)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, it's back. apologies, needed a break, then cyberpunk stole my life, even as the game became more apparently flawed to my eyes. hope the chapter's still good; i'm almost convinced my writing skills took a dive in the two weeks i was dead
> 
> CW: Almost! Kiss, Gender Dysphoria, Trans Reveal (to another Trans Character)

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/18, 1483_

She would never feel at home at Beacon Castle. She spent most of her time in the West Wing of the castle grounds, where the guards were nil, the walls were rubble, and the great rock that Beacon stood upon was giving way, weathered by the elements. On a whim, with ink and paper, she jotted down which improvements might be made to the castle grounds; where arrow slits should be added, where blind spots should be acknowledged, and accounted for, perhaps some cannon loaded onto the riverside wall to sink any besieging the castle via boat.

She crumpled up her schematics, frustrated. She’d only just met Ruby, and could not fully trust her yet. Especially with that Atlessian Familiar whispering in her ear at every second. 

Her stomach gnawed for dinner, demanding she tend to her gluttony. She set back for the kitchen in the East Wing, scaling the rubble, but spotted out of the corner of her eye, Ruby and Weiss, practicing their arcana in the courtyard.

Ruby’s magic circuits glowed an angry red through her skin. She’d used up what little capacity they’d been capable of, a lifetime of dormancy rendering them impotent, unable to channel mana into the most basic of cantrips. The glyph that Weiss had set out for her to channel into lied dormant, inactive, unfilled. She spied on the pair from a distance, curious; though an improperly or scuttled glyph could be disastrous for anyone nearby, that would at least be a result. 

She settled for a secluded spot, nestled in the corner, where she could read with her darkvision, while still playing voyeur to Ruby’s efforts. It would be unlikely Goodwitch’s approach to tutoring would yield any results from Ruby, even by month’s end.

“Ruby, you should take a break.” Weiss said, worried about the strain Ruby was ringing the pseudo-nervous system through. Blake worried with her; should she pry Ruby away from her training? Why was magic so important to her? Ruby had been raised in the Southern Lycan clans; beyond the occasional village shaman, or the rare dealings with the Highland Fey realms, the Lycan clans had little in the way of magic tradition. 

It was a guess, and only a guess; Ruby had something to prove to herself.

Ruby crumpled to the ground, covered in sweat, her magic circuits throbbing, flickering red, her breathing staggered. “But I’m so close. I can do it, Weiss.”

“It’s not going to do you any good if you strain yourself like this.” Weiss said. She offered Ruby her hand, which she did not take. “Turn in, and we can tell Goodwitch-”

“No!”

Blake’s ears perked up, her eyes firmly off her novella. 

“You wouldn’t understand.” Ruby said. “You’d never understand.”

Blake set aside the text, and sat up to join the pair. “May I help?”

Ruby glared at her; Blake almost flinched. It was not a side of her she’d been expecting, nor wanted to see. But Ruby then recognized who she was, and blushed a shade of bright red. “Uh hey Blake! Uhm… sure?”

“I’ll need to touch your body.” Blake said. She was well aware how it sounded, relishing the red Ruby was burning up to her ears, the deathly ice black glare Weiss gave her. “Are you okay with that?”

Ruby’s tail curled around in short, incomplete strokes. “Uhmsure!”

Blake took her place beside Ruby. She lifted her arms up, fingers tracing a line across her arms, just gently grazing the delicate skin wherever it was exposed. She brought forth a simple shadow illusion at her fingers, cutting off the summon halfway through and channeling the excess mana into Ruby’s magic circuits. 

Anymore, and she was sure Ruby would burst into flames. “Rote memorization may work for the unmolded minds of young ladies, but I’m sure what worked for Goodwitch won’t work for you.” Blake said, memorizing a basic outline, for Yang. “The problem isn’t the magic circuits; you’ve inherited plenty of those. But it’s more than you know what to do with. You need to discover your Semblance.”

Ruby’s ears twitched. “My Semblance?”

“If Magic Circuits are what convert the mana your body accumulates into a weapon the body can use, a Semblance is what the body channels the collected magic into.” Weiss said. “Blake… is right. I’m not sure I can help you here. Your mind is more set; more stuck in its ways. There are a great many type of Semblances; Crest Bloodlines, Glyph Wielders, Oracles, Enchantresses. It will only be a matter of time before you find yours, on your own terms.”

Ruby sighed sharply, her ears twitching. “That’s very specific, isn’t it? Find it on my own terms.”

“As long as you continue looking, you’ll come to feel for it in time. And when you do, it will feel as natural as moving the limbs of your body.” Blake said.

“Can’t you two at least offer examples? Tell me how you two did it?”

Weiss watched her for a moment, reluctant to go first. When Blake made no show of even bothering, Weiss cleared her throat, and spoke. “My semblances are a complex affair. In Atlas, the legitimacy of the nobility is enshrined in the tradition of Crests. Noble families, such as House Schnee, cull exactly one daughter from their families and force them to host the family Crest, a bodily engraving that can be passed down by lineage, carrying with it all the generational knowledge of arcana. I… bear the Crest of House Schnee, but I have extensive knowledge of Glyph magics.”

It was a story that did not add up; if Weiss were an Atlessian Knight, she could not have been a Crest-bearer, for no self-respecting Atlessian landowning family would ever dare risk their Crest line in such a way. She could also have not been a woman had she truly been an Atlessian Knight, though that was a detail which could be ignored for now.

When Weiss did not continue, and Blake felt the pair’s attention fall on her, Blake spoke. “I’ll abstain.”

Weiss’s furor was forthcoming. “Are you joking with me? After I just revealed something so intimate, so revealing, you decide to opt out?”  
  


“And you revealing this part of yourself entitles you to my secrets?” Blake said.

Weiss did not answer, her furor hollowing out, leaving behind embarrassment. “I suppose you’re right.” She said.

Ruby looked skeptical, not at all happy with what had been said. “I’m still confused.”

  
  


“It… will come to you in time.” Blake said, though she was unconvinced her own words would help her. Ruby looked frustrated, Blake guessing for herself, than anybody else in particular. It was a familiar pain Blake knew, had known long, long ago, when she had just started her training under Adam’s tutelage. A familiar pain she’d thought been put to sleep long ago, now stirring again within her.

It was nauseating. 

“Are you feeling alright?” Weiss asked of Ruby, worry in her voice.

“I’m fine.” Ruby said, bitterly.

“You… you feel disgusting.” Blake said, drawing out an angry glare from Ruby. Her words drawled out of her mouth slowly, uncomfortable to even speak about out loud. She did not need to reveal this part of her, not to Ruby, especially not in front of Weiss. But she saw and understood how Ruby felt, how Blake had felt when she’d first trained under Adam for so long, without any notable result.

It was a fresh memory, far fresher than what she was comfortable with. The difficulty of finding her semblance. The mocking looks, the scornful words spoken behind her back when the other girls, who’d learned Arcana before they’d learned to walk, saw her without magic. 

All persons had magic circuits, which could draw from Prana from the world around, and convert it into Mana. But only those with certain auras could find, and wield a semblance to tap into this wellspring of power. The aura of a woman. 

“Don’t be disappointed at today’s results.” Weiss said. “You can’t just give up so quickly. Tomorrow, we can-”

“You wouldn’t understand! If I can’t do this, then it proves…” Ruby’s breath pithered off, her words faltering, unable to say what she wanted to say, but so afraid of being alone.

“I was born a boy.” Blake said. She wished her voice had been devoid of the sentiments Ruby had gone and dredged up inside of her. 

It was only a few words, but it proved enough to snap Ruby from her tirade, her stiffened ears and tail relaxing. 

“W-what?” 

Blake opened her mouth to speak, but she was without words, her ears flattened in dismay. It was something she had not… felt, in so long. That disgust in oneself, that writhing inadequacy in one’s own skin that was so very alien, yet so very intimate. She looked away, not wanting these stupid emotions anymore. “I was born a boy. I won’t say it again.”

“I uh… heard it the first time.” Ruby said. Blake looked up at her words. “You shouldn’t have done that for me. I… I made you do this for me-”

“I _chose_ for myself.” Blake said, far too quickly for her own liking. She had _not_ wanted to feel like this. It was ruining her composure. “It was… frustrating, long ago when I first started practicing. I hadn’t wanted you to feel the same way I felt then.”

Ruby pulled her into a tight hug; Blake stammered something out, not having embraced another in so long. But when she pushed Ruby off of her, Ruby only rolled her eyes, and hugged her again. It was… not wholly uncomfortable, being in another’s arms like this. 

“Do you not want to hug me?” Ruby asked.

She did not know how to answer. “It’s... strange. I’m not used to physical affection.”

“You really liked holding me in front of Weiss the other day.”

Blake felt warm pink flow up to her cheeks. She had gone too far with teasing Weiss Schnee that day, and now paid the price for it with her embarrassment now. “I was concerned… for your legs.”

Ruby did not appear convinced in the slightest. “My legs.”

“Yes. And Weiss was making it difficult for me to just let you go. And Goodwitch had been coming, and I’d sensed it.” The more lies that poured out of her throat, the more she remembered exactly why she had never been chosen for more socially inclined operations.

Weiss cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably where she sat. She looked as if she were mustering up the courage to say something, though whatever it was, Blake was not in the mood to know.

“If there’s something you wished to say, then say it.” Blake said.

“It’s not whatever you think it is.” Weiss said, briskly. “First, I already knew about Ruby, though I much rather have not learned it at all in the first place.” When she’d reckoned with Blake’s glare, Blake allotting her enough time to reassess her words, she spoke again. “I mean in respect for her privacy! It was a revelation that was, uhm, thanks to the texts I’ve been reading in the Arcanum, underwhelming in every possible sense! It did not, at all, affect how physically attractive I find her, and uhm-”

If Ruby had registered what she’d just said, she hadn’t shown it, instead pulling Weiss into a hug of her own, burying her face in her clavicle.

“Thank you.” Ruby said, her voice croaking. “Both of you.”

Weiss burned red, perhaps from the affection, perhaps from realizing what she’d just said. Whatever it was, she returned the hug, arms awkwardly wrapping around Ruby, returning the embrace.

It was… discomforting, confronting so many personal demons in one night. Blake shifted around awkwardly, her composure ruined, the hairs on her ears ruffled from the embarrassment of it all, her tail unsure, stroking around in tight, restricted curls. 

Ruby’s stomach made itself known, grumbling just as the embrace had been broken off, Ruby better and grateful, Weiss embarrassed but quietly giddy. The sight of it had Blake’s own stomach churning with warmth.

“Mmph. I think I’m hungry.” Ruby said, still a bit reluctant to get too close to Weiss, perhaps embarrassed from all that had been said.

Weiss laughed, slipping her arm around hers. “Of course you’re starving, you dolt. You’ve been doing this all day.” She said.

“You... want to eat together then?” Ruby asked, hopefully.

“I… would love to.” Weiss said.

“I suppose then that I should leave you two to it.” Blake said. She hoped to escape back into her chambers, reclaim her composure, and venture out once her embarrassment had faded away.

“Blaaake.” Ruby said. “Eat with us. It’ll be more fun together.”

Weiss looked surprised, Blake joining her. She wanted to politely decline, but found the combination of Ruby’s needy eyes, her vulnerable, but inviting tail wagging back and forth, and her wolf’s ears curling in need too powerful to properly resist.”

“I suppose.”

* * *

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/20, 1483_

“May we spar?”

For a brief moment, she wondered if this would be a thinly veiled assassination attempt on Weiss’s part. Blake’s stare centered at her, Weiss’s eyes icy blue, waiting for her answer. Blake answered ‘yes’. At the very least, it would be an opportunity to observe Weiss in action. She trusted her skill enough that if it were an assassination attempt, it would quickly turn to farce. 

They arrived at a secluded patio overlooking the River Doria on the Castle’s upper layers without a word to each other. Weiss snapped her fingers, conjuring flames for four inactive fire lamps, lighting their sparring grounds; the midnight sky accommodating Weiss’s Vampiric aversion to sunlight.

“It’s a miracle this patio is still intact.” Blake said, Weiss inspecting each lamp.

“I couldn’t believe it myself.” Weiss said. “I believe this was a mooring for sky riders.” When Blake’s ears twitched and she looked upon her in confusion, Weiss sighed. “Wyverns. Pegasi. Tamed creatures of the sky. They’re not nearly as common in Vale as they were in Mistral, and Atlas. I tried to do some reading on the subject, but most of the texts here haven’t been helpful.”

“I remember. My mind lapsed, for I haven’t seen them ever in Vale.” Blake said. “But I’ve been to Solitas before.”

“And?” 

“Cold. And much of the food proved terrible.”

She had not expected Weiss to bawl out in laughter. “May I ask where in Solitas, or will that prove to be another one of your many secrets?”

“Abodriten.”

“A glory of the empire!” Weiss said. “I’ve always wanted to see the seven towers, witness the brickwork of the city gate with my own eyes. In my life, I never was able to venture outside Atlas.” Weiss said, bitterly.

“So goes our lives.” Blake said, looking around. There were no dummy weapons. “Are we to spar with steel?”

“There was nothing in the castle that would suffice for my _Haudegen.”_ Weiss clapped her hands together, the outline of her crest glowing faint underneath the contours of her clothes, it’s abstract lines faintly resembling the oppressive Eagle of Atlas, of House Schnee. From her hands, she conjured forth a blade, it’s edge long, it’s hilt basketed. “Shall we duel?”

There was an irony, cutthroat, in that Blake and Weiss could only speak together on amicable terms while their blades were drawn and swinging at each other.

It was a joy to spar with Weiss, being able to knock her on her arse with that delicate sword however much as she pleased. A _Haudegen,_ the Atlessians called it. Though her delicate and kept appearance suggested that the blade would not fit well in the Schnee’s hands, she carried it well, in spite of what losing every fight might suggest. The steel was heavy enough to have some force behind it, but not to the point of becoming unwieldy.

She’d known little of the Schnee girl, only that she was Ruby’s familiar, and that she was dead; a prerequisite for being a familiar. It was not much.

From how she held her blade, she knew of the desperation, the raw drive she wielded her blade with. That desperate need to make something of oneself, and to prove oneself to whatever ridiculous goal they’d created for themselves.

She had the principles of whatever manuals that blade required jotted down to memory. It was inexperience that kept her knocked on her arse every duel, that kept her hesitating whenever Blake’s form was open. It was ten or so duels in, that Weiss finally eked out a win, using the reach of the blade to her advantage, and bringing it within an inch of Blake’s neck.

“Again.” Weiss said. 

“Do you not tire?” Blake asked, well winded. 

“Yes, but my body does not warn me of its limits as quickly as a normal humanoid’s. A blessing when I need to push my form to said limits. A curse when my exhaustion catches up to me.

“Don’t overestimate your win. I’m not a duelist. I prefer to choose fights where I know I can win. And I prefer to run if I think the risk of injury is too high.” Blake said.

“Smart.” Weiss said. She let her rest a moment, before resuming their positions on the dueling grounds.

They stood four arms apart. Weiss, with her arming blade, Blake, with side-sword and long-dagger. They watched each other, choosing their method of attack, waiting to see if the other would fumble and act right into the other’s hands.

Weiss stepped forward, thrusting the bulk of her blade at Blake’s neck. She raised both blades to guard against it with a cross block, the greatsword locked in by the dagger and blade’s crossguards. It would not be long before Weiss would realize she had leverage over her. She broke the dagger away from the grapple of blades, and aimed it right at the flesh of Weiss’s neck, stopping within an inch of the pale flesh.

“Yield.” Blake said, Weiss withdrawing her blade from the tangle of steel. Still winded, they took seats at one of the bench rests nearby. Weiss sat close, but not too close. Something was bothering her, but Blake could not tell what.

“Did you invite me here just to lose to me ten times over, or did you have something tangible to say to me?”

She did not seem offended by the jest. “You’re a better sparring partner than the guards in this castle.”

“I could easily take that as an insult.” Blake said.

A smile quivered at Weiss’s lips, before morphing into a frown. “It wasn’t. And for the record, I would love to get some advice from you.”

“Is it Ruby?” Blake asked.

Weiss’s face burned bright pink. It had been very worth it, working herself up to a sweat just to see her like this. “Please don’t make this difficult for me.”

“I will make no such promises.” Blake said. “I would have thought the Schnees were more well versed in court politics.”

At the mention of her family name, Weiss almost snarls, glaring at her. “How did you know?”

“You just gave it away.” Blake said, Weiss’s eyes despairing. “Your family is a plague on my kind. Of course I would know the name Schnee. Every faunus in all of Remnant does.”

“I’m not the only one hiding secrets, rapscallion.” Weiss said, taking the bait. “You know full well you have secrets of your own.”

“Maybe.” Blake said. “Or I might just not be speaking of it because there’s not really a point in saying such things.”

“Am I really just supposed to believe you’re some street faunus, who knows how to read and write, who can spar her way into besting the bulk of Ruby’s guards, who’s well versed enough in Faunus politics to advise Ruby on the subject?” Her eyes grew furious. Sharp. Enticing. “You carry yourself as if you could die any second. Maybe it’s because of your animal instincts, but I know it’s something more.”

She restrained herself, her tail tensing, hearing the words 'Animal Instincts’. “You’re more observant than most would give you credit for, Schnee. But you’re arrogant.”

“Excuse me?” Weiss asked.

“I’d say you’re the one unfit for duty, Schnee." Blake said, already bored with the matter. "Look at you, you’re shaking. I bet you couldn’t take a single piece of criticism from a commoner like me.” Weiss was all riled up now; Blake grinned, wickedly as she leaned in, scraping away at Weiss’s personal space.

“I most certainly can.” Weiss said, crossing her arms. “Bring it on.”

Blake cleared her throat. “If you wish to win Ruby’s affections, so you can stop thirsting for her, then by the Goddesses Weiss, just be direct.”

Weiss was flushing bright pink. “That’s not what I-”

“I’ll even help you with this so you can stop being such a huge arse.” Ironic, given her lithe, yet toned form. “Stop thinking as if you’re better than everyone else because you were a Schnee, and maybe Ruby will stop being scared of every word coming out of your mouth being another insult.”

“You hate me, don’t you?” Weiss said, bitterly.

Blake considered the thought. “It wouldn’t accomplish anything.”

“That wasn’t the question I’d asked.”

Blake shrugged at her. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Then do you _want_ to hate me?”

It was a more difficult question to consider. “I should. But I feel as though I’ve lost the right.”

“Oh.” Weiss said, worriedly. “May I…”

“I don’t wish to talk of it.” Blake said. 

They settled into an uncomfortable silence, eyeing one another reluctantly, cautious not to trip into the endless traps their personalities had for one another.

“How did you know?” Weiss asked, slowly.

“Know what?” Blake said, innocently.

Weiss groaned. “You very well know what!”

“I very well know that I require you to speak in complete thoughts.” Blake said.

“Fine. How did you know that I was harboring… affections?”

She considered pressing Weiss on whom she’d had these affections for, but the girl’s head might have fried from how red she already was. 

“You just told me.” Blake said, instead.

Weiss gawked at her, bloody murder in her eyes. “Why do you insist on being so aggravating towards me while you’re in my presence? Why are you like this? Are you like this around the others in your life? Because you certainly don’t seem to be this way around Ruby. Distant, and standoffish I can deal with, but I can’t stand how infuriating you’re being.”

Blake scoffed. It would be a sight to behold, watching her and Yang run into one another. A mess, perhaps, but still a sight. “Because it’s very entertaining watching you fumble around your emotions like this.”

“I am not… fumbling! So what if I do get embarrassed by Ruby? So what if I think the two of you are very attractive?”

They both burned red as the full weight of Weiss’s words settled in.

It had proven to be a most unwelcome surprise. “I think it’s time for me to go then.” Blake said, her blood running cold, her instincts suddenly hostile, frightened. She sat up, starting back to her quarters.

“Blake?” Weiss said, tailing her. “Blake!?”

“This is ridiculous.” Blake said. “I’m not… I’m not suited for court matters.”

“It was a slip of the tongue?” Weiss said, unconvincingly. She snapped her fingers, the patio doors freezing solid to buy Weiss time. Blake turned to face her, already reaching for her blade. 

No. No. She would cut the head off this snake before it would bite her. “Open this door right now.”

“At least let me try to explain!”

“The last thing I need to know is whatever you think of me whenever you touch yourself in your quarters.” Blake said.

“I… I have done no such thing!” Weiss said, stumbling on her words. She’d meant to say _‘I haven’t thought of you when I’ve done that!’._ It might have been funny, if she were not a Schnee.

“Fine. I believe you. Let me leave.”

“Not until everything’s sorted out!” Weiss said. 

“By the Goddesses, Weiss. What is there to sort out?”

“Like… why you’re so outright embarrassed by the matter. That I’ve found you… attractive.”

“I’m not embarrassed on the matter at all. It’s you, who’s clearly embarrassed about your affections for the Queen.” Blake said.

“You’re deflecting from the matter at hand.” Weiss said.

“In Atlas, is the concept of letting a matter drop really all that foreign to you?”

“If you’re not embarrassed by it at all, then… then offer me proof!” Weiss said.

Blake looked at her with beguilement. She could just leave behind a shadow and just leave her be; why were her instincts being uncooperative with her again?

“What proof could possibly exist to exonerate me from your perverted mind?” Blake said.

The jest did not help matters. More likely, it had escalated it all, with Weiss’s typical furor and daring returning to her eyes. “If… if you’re not embarrassed at all by this, then it will prove it!” Before Blake could ask ‘what’ she could be embarrassed about, Weiss took her by the collar. She found herself pulled in, their lips crashing together.

...Only that they had not kissed. Instead, Weiss kept their lips an inch apart, seconds away from kissing.

“By god.” Weiss said, smirking. “You are embarrassed!”

Blake threw Weiss off of her, drawing her blade and bashing through the ice until the doors were freed, ripping the doors open, frostbite at her fingers be damned.

“This damned castle.” Blake said. “The water in the castle well must be poisoned. This damned castle is driving me insane.”

* * *

She slunk off to the privacy of her quarters, barren and without much, Blake only just moved in. Her ears flushed thoroughly red, her tail curling around without control, rhyme or reason, her mind addled with images of the admittedly pretty Schnee girl... with her, she buried herself in her sheets, needing to cool off. This was not a break from Sienna's damned teasing. This was far, far worse, something far more intimately discomforting than whatever her surrogate mother could dish out at her. 

She groaned, fumbling around for the Sending Stone she'd kept in her bag, desperate for any distraction to her... addled mind. To noone's surprise, it glowed red, indicating there were messages to be read.

_Hey, you know any rooms with good grub around town?_

_Is this thingy even working?_

_You getting this message?_

_Sheesh, messaging like this gives me anxiety_

_Always worried I’ll fuck up on my words or something_

_You feel the same?_

_Did I muss anything up?_

Blake chuckled. She would have never imagined herself so grateful to speak with Yang. _Apologies. I was lost in thought. Just where Menagerie meets the Harborplace, the banks of the River Doria, room and board owned by a Loxodon, Kiyolos, who make excellent omelettes. I believe tomorrow will be a fasting day for the Imperial Church, but there should be other Taverna nearby._

When Yang did not reply to the message as quickly as she'd wished, she grew disgruntled, staring at the now useless stone that only served to amplify her damned anxiety. To kill time, she asked Ruby to use the baths in her room, hoping that the scalding hot water clearing her mind. With nary but a drying cloth on, she slipped back into her room away from prying eyes, always having enjoyed the freedom of being bare her own skin.

She was annoyed by the joy inside of her when she saw that the Sending Stone had glowed red again.

Yang had replied. _So it does work!_

_Uh, I didn’t say anything embarrassing, did I?_

Blake scoffed, and responded. _Nothing I can’t hold against you while describing you to the rest of the court._

Yang replied. _See?_ _You do know how to have some fun._

_At the expense of poor old me though._

_Again with this?_ Blake replied, tossing the sending stone, still wondering what how Yang would reply. She froze, very, very annoyed with herself. She did not need to care about whatever anyone else thought, especially Yang, and especially Weiss. From the bookshelf, she procured one of her favorite novellas, this one about a Giant Troubadour, lost in a strange land, forced to sing songs to jeering audiences to whom he was unfamiliar with. But as unconcerned as Yang’s thoughts as she was, that very anxiety Yang had described to her was now affecting her.

Was it a hex of some sort? Incompatibility from the stone’s previous wielder?

To no surprise, Yang had replied. _Hey, you okay?_

Blake groaned, and took the Sending Stone to conjure up another message. _This ordeal has been… disorienting. I don’t understand diplomacy, or court politics at all, and the Queen’s inner circle has proven… infuriating to deal with. I’ve also grown very restless from inactivity._

Yang replied. _I get that._

Blake frowned. Was that it? No invitation, none of the persistence she’d been so willing to display from before? She set the Sending Stone on her nightstand, flipping open her novella to wherever she’d left off. But none of the pages read familiar; she’d lost where she’d been in the damned text, all because of Yang.

Reluctantly, she sent another message. _Is… that offer, you made the last time we'd met still available?_

That she’d been excited when Yang replied annoyed her to great lengths.

_Sure thing, cutie._

She shucked the Sending Stone off the bed. That she was not wearing a scrap of cloth did nothing to alleviate her embarrassment. She'd made another damned mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> considered naming this chapter: blake tries to be all serious, but can't catch a break in the horny castle


	8. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (8/10, Ruby)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully, the chapter being long makes up for the hiatus lol
> 
> meh, it's prolly a bad chapter either way lol. lots of worldbuilding and romantic stuff. scared it's too much. whoops.
> 
> CW: Mentions of Slavery, Jacques Schnee, Bodily Dysphoria, Nudity, Mentions of Torture, Implied Sex

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/22, 1483_

Knowing that she was to venture out with Goodwitch, outside of Beacon Castle, offering an escape from Vale proper and all it’s miasma and accompanying stenches that drifted up from the gutters of the city, Ruby had gotten little sleep the night before their sudden excursion to the Emerald Forest. She trudged along the forest path fatigued and without rest, with little heft to her step, her familiar Weiss alike. Though Weiss’s body required little sleep, her source of energy was thoroughly dependent on Ruby's, who was still unused to having to slumber at sunrise, and awaken just hours before sunset to accommodate Weiss. Though, in fair play, Ruby had also found their classroom sessions ending earlier more often, thanks to Weiss’s assistance in helping her read and understand the texts Goodwitch would assign. Short-term pain for long-term gain. 

And so Ruby found herself accustomed to the night, as Blake mysteriously had also been (the woman seemed to be able to upend her time of sleep without effort, or any ill consenquences), as cold as Valean nights were this time of year.

Their triage (Blake had been unavailable, waiting in the city for Goodwitch), stopped before a small clearing where the dirt gave way, Ruby stumbling on her feet and almost crashing into Goodwitch. As such, her efforts were rewarded, when Weiss stumbled into her from behind.

"And here I thought you would prove able to push Ruby into having more consistent energy for her duties." Goodwitch said.

Weiss only groaned, eyes just as heavy as Ruby's. “Is there any reason why you’ve brought us out here?” Weiss said, little bile to her words. 

The Emerald Forest spanned the land northeast of the Vale proper, by the banks of the River Tyrrha, snaking downstream until it joined the River Doria to form the confluence where the city of Vale Proper stood. Neither Ruby, nor Weiss knew much of it, nor any opportunity to see much of it along the way, for damned Goodwitch had simply teleported them in the midst of the cobblestone road, in the still of the night. Though the Emerald Forest's size on the map was far overwhelming, the cobblestone road was marked by a great many enchanted torches that Weiss had wasted little time in pointing out that they belonged to an era where Vale was an Empire, where Solitas was an uncivilized frontiersland, and Vacuo yet to be reclaimed from the sands, and recolonized.

"Blake has brought up an unexpected matter, which has quite promptly demanded by discerning attention." Goodwitch said. "As such, I now have urgent business to tend to in the city with her."

"Should I not also tend to it as well?" Ruby asked.

"Vale proper is far from safe, even accounting for the typical chaos of city life." Goodwitch said. "Your rule's foundation is... shaky, at best. It took much convincing to get the Grand Council to agree to your acension to the crown, and even then, there are many of those within the city who would wish nothing more than to see another House selected to rule over Vale, or perhaps even, the end of the Valean Monarchy."

“The monarchy abolished?” Weiss asked, with disgust evident in her voice. “Are they mad?”

“Vale is not Atlas, Weiss. The Kingdom has only existed for two centuries. The Valean Situation is, in many ways, unintelligible with Atlessian politics, and vice versa." Goodwitch said. 

"As I am growing more accustomed to." Weiss said.

"As I expected, for a woman of your perceptiveness." Goodwitch said.

Their group stopped at a crossroads where the road branched off into two; one promising them travel to the Batavian Republic up north, one which would eventually lead them through a mountain pass to the Serene Republic out west.

"What I need, is for the two of you to traverse the Emerald Forest for three nights in search of something, which has the potential to be of great importance to Ruby."

Ruby's ears perked up, and she spoke before Weiss could gawk. "Of great importance? What is it?" She asked, racking her sleep-deprived mind for answers.

"If it calls out to you, you _will_ know what it is." Goodwitch said. "For that matter, it would be best if you led, trusting only your instincts."

Ruby's tail quirked up. "Uhn… no map? What if we get lost and don't find it?"

"Then it would not have called out to you, after three weeks, or fifty. At the end of the third day, I will find you, even if the two of you lose yourselves so drastically in this tamed expanse."

"Well, what about food?" Weiss asked. "I haven't any the slightest idea on how to hunt."

Goodwitch produced two blue bags from her satchel, tossing them over. "Foodstuffs, to keep you nourished. I trust the both of you not to consume it all in one sitting. I've also provided you twenty silver guilder, in case you require food and lodging from one of the many towns on the road."

They rummaged through the knapsacks, finding dried meats and boiled eggs for Ruby, blood cubes and raw eggs for Weiss.

"You must be joking with me." Weiss said, looking very much unamused with their setup for the night.

Goodwitch, as always, was quick with her dry wit. "Try me."

"What of the fauna?" Weiss asked. "I'll tire gradually. You can't expect me to slaughter an entire forest of Grimm."

"Which is why I chose the Emerald Forest for this trial. Since time immemorial, the Emerald Forest has been double-warded, to banish any would be Grimm from the grounds near Vale Proper. Trust me Weiss, when I say that there is little of note that could possibly ever be threatening in these grounds. Now. Are there any further questions."

There were a handful more from the two of them, each concerning what exactly they were looking for, what might be best to do, each question deflected by vague answers and half-truths. Eventually, they tired, and grew silent.

"Very well then." Goodwitch said, extending her crop, the implement charging violet with what Ruby recognized was a _Ianuae Magicae_ (Teleportation) spell. "One more thing." From her satchel, she produced one violet-glowing crystal, glowing and shimmering in the night. "If you somehow find yourselves in grave need, break this crystal, and I shall be there."

This, she handed to Weiss. "Interesting." Weiss said, blackened eyes glowing at the crystal, presumably to study. "How does it work-"

The crop snapped out, releasing it's magic; in but a moment, Goodwitch's form dissipated, leaving behind nothing but forest air.

"Oh. Of course." Weiss grumbled, pocketing the crystal. 

Still drowsy, Ruby felt the presence of Weiss's eyes looking upon her, shyly. It was this part that she'd especially dreaded, being left alone, in a forest with Weiss, with little else to do but work together.

Ruby regarded her briefly, eyes darting away, still remembering when Weiss had witnessed her in a state... of arousal.

From how Weiss looked, it might as well have been all that she was thinking of. "Well. Ruby? Where to?"

* * *

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/23, 1483_

Long after they'd started off, they tired, the moon already waxing and waning with the passing of the night. They stayed to the road for their first night, passing by a number of clearings, and their hamlets, and their farms, many of which were in a ramshackle state, with their roofs not properly thatched and their walls not properly set. They caught a few passerbys, who, restless with the night, had not turned in back home yet. There was a great variety of them, from Wood Elves, to Kobolds, to sedentary Goblins, who all lived in these hamlets, so closely together. None recognized them, thanks to the commoner's garb Goodwitch had made them wear, to the reluctance on Weiss's part. On occasion, they would pass by a caravan of wagons pulled by oxen and horses, each carrying a great amount of lumber and logs in the direction of Vale proper.

When the moon waned, and the sun threatened to rise, they were close enough to a modest village to warrant rest for the night. It was just before the crack of dawn, and the forest around was still bitterly cold, but there were a great many people already awake and gathered in the town, carrying out logs to load onto the many wagons near the road. There was an inn by the road, one with many caravans of wagons and horses, carrying foodstuffs and wares presumably for trade further inland. Their feet were sore enough to warrant them going in, and when they did, there was a stout halfling at the reception, who'd gawked at the sight of Ruby, checking into his modest abode for the morning.

Weiss waved around her satchel, the silver guilders clinking inside. "Please don't cause a commotion. We're just here to rest."

It was strange, the Queen of Vale invited into the Halfling's kitchen, idly watching as he chopped up a great many Summer squashes to toss into the stew he'd left to sit since the sun last set yesterday. As his position demanded, the Halfling had a penchant of remembering faces, and had been present in town for Queen Ruby's procession.

"Do you mind me asking how so many of you came to settle in the Emerald Forest in the first place?" Weiss asked, her natural curiosity regarding her surroundings already piqued.

"A number of us are here, working for Her Majesty's lumber charters. More of us, like me, are here cause all the good land in the southeast's already been bought up and taken by city folk, who've never walked a day in the countryside." He spoke with a hint of resentment coming through his gravely voice, though none of it directed at Ruby. "Ever since the land here's been warded, it's been safe to live in, even if you don't know a damn thing about the forest. When I first came around, some years ago, this town hadn't even existed." He said, dicing up a carrot to throw into the pot.

The venison stew proved wonderful for Ruby, though inedible for Weiss's tastes, who made do, cracking a raw egg into a dish, and dipping into it with stale bread. At the sight, Ruby caught herself staring, as did Weiss.

"What?" Weiss asked, mildly embarrassed. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Ruby blushed, returning to her stew. "Uhm, just wondering. Is food not as enjoyable for you as it is for me?" Ruby asked.

It was a question that Weiss needed a moment to answer. "Not really. It's always just been fuel for my kind."

Ruby's ears fell. "I'm sorry." She said, uselessly.

Weiss scoffed. "No need to apologize. Not like I'd lost anything in the first place."

They retired to their room not long after, discovering, infuriatingly, and predictably, that there was only one bed. Surprisingly, neither she nor Weiss protested, their mutual resignation towards the matter perhaps synchronizing through the bond they'd been forced to share. Though Ruby was decidedly uncomfortable with the prospect of sleeping in her scratchy rags for the night, there was no conceivable way she would ever find herself undressing in the little space they had, before Weiss's eyes.

They shared a pillow, each decidedly facing away from each other, their shared body heat becoming something of a problem as the weather became cooler from the rise of the sun. 

* * *

Their sleep was peaceful, Ruby being the first to stir awake with Weiss's arm splayed across her, keeping her captive to their woefully inadequate bedding. Weiss eventually stirred, and they set off, bidding farewell to the inkeeper when the warmth of the sun had already begun to fade, bathing the forest in orange light.

The forest's canopy was enough to shade them from the burning light of the sun, though Ruby found herself missing it's embrace. They treaded off the beaten path, and not long after, Ruby could feel Weiss's disdain towards her in droves.

"If you have something to say, say it." Ruby said.

"I was just wondering if you even knew where we're going."

"Well, we weren't exactly given great directions, so I'm just following my instincts."

"Your instincts? What if we get lost?"

"Then Goodwitch'll find us at the end of our three days." Ruby said back, glaring at Weiss. "She said to trust me, didn't she?"

Weiss, who'd jumped back at Ruby's venom, quietly shut up. "I suppose she did."

It was some time after, when Ruby felt it. Weiss's presence, watching her, her gaze entranced by the ass she was following. _Her_ ass.

Ruby blushed, turning around. "Weiss!?"

Weiss seemingly had realized what she'd been doing, and blushed. "Uhm, I, wasn't looking?"

Ruby sighed, and turned on her heel again to resume. "Whatever. Forget about it."

From their bond, Ruby could tell there was more Weiss needed to say, but could not, for risk of embarrassing herself. 

* * *

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/24, 1483_

It was as Goodwitch had predicted, as they traversed on deeper and deeper into the depths of the forest, of the beaten path. There was absolutely nothing of note that could possibly threaten them in these grounds. Idled, and with only the wick of their lantern to serve as light for the forest, they'd grown bored, Weiss opting to hum a little tune in lieu of properly scanning her surroundings.

"Is there something wrong?" Weiss asked, bored.

Ruby's ears perked up. "Well uhm… your face is all scrunched up at me like a newborn pup.”

Weiss burned a hot, intimate shade of red that struck into their bond. "It is most certainly not! Wherever you got the idea for such a ridiculous notion, I will never understand."

"Believe me, I know what a newborn pup's face looks like." Ruby said. "I always prefered to be in the nurseries for newborns, but the midwives thought my presence would be a disturbance."

"Of course it would be." Weiss said. "With a presence as grating as yours, it's no wonder why they wouldn't have wanted you."

It was a jest, Ruby knew it; but it did little to assuage her view of herself, always scarred, always molded by who she'd been forcibly born as. 

She would never bear children, so she could not offer Vale a heir. It was not that she was… infertile, but the very thought of playing the part of a man, to impregnate a lady, forcing her to bear the burden of childbirth, to go through such searing pain while she just stood there, unable to share the most feminine of all burdens…

"Ruby, I hadn't… meant it like that." Weiss said, taking her from her stupor.

"Like what." Ruby said, tired.

"We share a bond Ruby. Nothing you feel escapes me, even when I would greatly prefer it be otherwise."

"You would never understand how I feel." Ruby said, her tail curling downwards.

"Perhaps, but I always know when you're feeling like this!" Weiss said, exasperation in her tone. "The way you feel so disgusted with your own body when you're impacted by something that reminds you of it… it's disgusting, and I would never wish of it!"

Ruby smirked. It was a mean smirk, to whom, Ruby could not be honest to herself. "Glad you think experiencing my body's so repulsive. Same here."

"You know perfectly well what I meant, you dolt." Weiss said. "And stop talking yourself down like that. It… always feels awful when you do so."

Ruby scoffed. "I fucking wish I could just, 'stop.' But I can't just will it away, Weiss. Just like how I can't will my stupid body into doing magic, just like how I can't will my stupid brain into being better at this whole queenly buisness."

"That's not… that doesn't… you're not making any sense!" Weiss said, exasperation flickering on her pale features.

"It makes perfect sense to me." Ruby huffed, crossing her arms.

Weiss groaned, a sudden shade of pink forming on her features. "You don't understand. One moment, I'm trying out a new form from my blade manuals, and the next minute, I'm curling on my side because of a stupid memory of you being laughed at by all your fellow clansmen just because someone caught you slipping on a gown. It's ridiculous, and infuriating, and I haven't any clue on how to move forward after these episodes!"

"I…" Ruby's tail curled up. "You saw my memories? Why?" She said, her voice a hoarse quiver. "Why would you even do that?"

Icy blue eyes glowed wide. "Oh I… Hadn't… I thought you were given privy to my memories too." Weiss's voice was almost a whisper; quiet, remorseful, but not delicate.

"No, I hadn't!" Ruby said. "In case you didn't know, I can't do magic, so I'm kinda being given the short end of our magic bond here!"

"Stop it!" Weiss said, her voice exhausted, with little will to fight lingering on. "You know you're making me uncomfortable, in ways… I don't know how to fix."

"I… I… I don't know." Ruby said, her conviction beaten to the ground. "You've seen just about everything of me and I don't know what to do anymore. It's… I just want to stop feeling like this Weiss."

From what she could feel from their bond, Weiss's heart broke, unwanted pitying empathy pouring from it in droves, washing Ruby's sense of self away in a wave she could never hope to stop. Weiss realized what she'd been doing, and felt only more remorse, pouring it into the unwanted bond connecting the two. It was a cruel stroke of irony, really; there had once been a time where Ruby wished for nothing else but for someone else to understand her.

"May we stop talking of this?" Ruby asked. She had no need to muddle around in these pointless, hurtful thoughts any longer. She did not need to dawdle on sticky, lecherous thoughts of Weiss's pale slender thighs, nor her persistent, clinging memories of how soft her lips were, would be.

"Okay Ruby." Weiss said, without any spirit to her voice. "Okay."

* * *

They spent the next couple of hours venturing further down the tracks, with nary save for Ruby's intuition guiding them. With Weiss kept tight-lipped throughout the whole ordeal, Ruby mistook her silence as a sign she would no longer be visited by her lecherous thoughts. But when the dirt roads disappeared, leaving behind rugged, rocky bluffs for the pair to scale, and Ruby needed a stronger girl who could boost her up said bluffs, the touch of her hands always so tantalizing, Ruby knew she would soon be turned insane.

Their path took them to a secluded brook some ten beats off the sorry excuse of a road they'd followed, an offshoot of the River Doria a day's hike away. When they first set their eyes on it, they had exactly the same thought.

"I refuse to go any further with so much dirt lodged in places I would much rather not describe." Weiss said. "The sun will be rising soon; we bathe here, then set up camp in one of those cavernous ravines I spotted not long ago."

"Do you know how to swim?" Ruby asked.

"Never… had the opportunity." It was an embarrassing admission.

"I can go in first then." Ruby said. "See how deep it is."

Weiss went away to keep watch, leaving Ruby to strip down until she was bare, and brace herself for a miserably cold bath. The water proved warm thankfully, though for reasons unbeknownst to her until she saw the red heat glyphs carved at the bottom of the waist deep water.

She dipped her head beneath the waters, wetting her hair and waterlogging her ears and finding herself at bliss. As a child, she'd longed to wake up one day as a beautiful mermaid, where she could swim in the ocean to her heart's content as a beautiful woman. She floated on her back, melancholy at the fantasy of not having to try any longer at being a girl; as a mermaid, her very race alone would affirm who she really was, how beautiful she'd become.

"There's not much time until sundown." Weiss's voice was weak, unsure. Ruby flipped over in the water, almost drowning, hoping she hadn't exposed anything too… intimate while swimming. 

Ruby sputtered out a myriad of unfinished sentences, some apologizing, some protesting, all equally incoherent as the next. Weiss paid it no mind; stepping, then wading into the brook with her, completely nude, Ruby hadn't any choice but to gawk, embarrassment and arousal at one.

When her eyes fell to the scarring around her navel, there was a sudden twang of hostility in their bond, catching Ruby breathless, wincing in pain. Ruby's eyes darted away, shamefully, returning to Weiss's eyes only when the latter had let her know it was okay to look.

"You looked so happy." Weiss said, shyly. "Was I disturbing something?"

Ruby's ears shot up, burning pink with embarrassment. "N-no!" She could only sigh while Weiss gave her a doubting look, instructing her to elaborate more. "I just… really love swimming."

"I wouldn't have taken you for the type."

Ruby's ears slackened. "I love it. How weightless I feel whenever I soak in the sea. How beautiful, and feminine it feels to be enveloped in the Ocean Spirit. Like I don't have to think anymore of my… form."

Weiss looked at her with a barely concealed longing that hid few of the melancholic emotions spilling out of her. "You're well suited to Vale then. Command of the Great Seas has proven time and time again to be Vale's greatest strength. I remember Father's rage when the Valean Fleet wiped the combined navies of both Atlas and Mistral very well. It was only because of this victory, that Eastern Sanus claimed her independence, as Vale."

Ruby's ears fell again, most of everything beyond her comprehension.

Weiss's tepid calm failed, the vulnerability of baring one's body seeping through. “You... didn’t know?" Weiss said, almost as a whisper. "Vale as a Kingdom has only existed for some two-hundred years. When I was but a child, I remember studying maps that had the lands of Vale split between Mistral and Solitas. I especially recall when I first heard that the southernmost of the Imperial provinces had broken off and declared their independence from the rule of Solitas. Father was fell into a fit of rage; when he broke out of it, he was fully determined from that point on to take control, reform, and reunify the Empire.”

Ruby peered down, where the outline of her body, and her anatomy was showing. “You don’t sound as if you remember him fondly.”

“I do not.” Weiss looked upon her with a sorrowed, pained look upon her eyes. “How much do you know of Atlas?”

“When I was a pup, I would, on several occasions through the years, see cleanly dressed Elves, always arms, scouring our villages in search for chattel the elders were willing to sell off. I knew they were from a land called Atlas, but I knew little of the name. I was considered once, but the Elves found me… unbecoming for what my role would be.”

A hand met her shoulder; there was little to be comforted on. It was all in the past. “I watched as Father’s plans grew more ruthless in nature. The leaders of the corrupt and slovenly city guilds were imprisoned, their assets and lands seized by the empire, and turned into workshops, and factories to fuel the growing Imperial Armies. An offer of cordial relations between Solitas and the Fae realms which had existed within the Empire since time immemorial was torn up, Father preferring to simply drive them from their lands, cutting down their forests all in the name of Dust.”

“Dust?” Ruby asked.

“You remember how only a woman’s form may wield the Goddess’s gift of magic. And you know how certain races, or sites, even entire realms know a more intimate existence with the properties of Magic.”

“Of course.”

“Dust, by it’s very nature, bypasses this very law of our world. It is pure magic, in a form made corporeal, that is created by grinding down the trees of the Feyrealms, or their shrines, or even the persons themselves, until what remains is a tiny speck of dust, it’s magical properties concentrate.”

“The fey?” Ruby said. “They were so kind to me when I first stumbled into a group of one of them. They… they were the first to make me aware that… I was a girl.”

“Much of the Fey in Vale are refugees from Atlas. Same for the Faunus; Father needed laborers for the most undesirable jobs in his new empire. In the year 1248, on the Ides of the Ethereal Moon, it was issued, alongside his declaration of a new Empire, that all races deemed ‘lesser’ within the new Atlessian Hierarchy would be given one fortnight to leave the continent, or be subjugated as chattel for the Imperial Realm. In practice, the arrests began immediately, and almost all of the Faunus of Atlas proper had been enslaved, or expelled to the three other kingdoms by the month’s end.”

“Declaration of a new empire?” Ruby asked.

“The Atlessian Empire, to replace the Old Holy Empire of Solitas.” Weiss rose from the pool, her body nude, her Family’s crest out to bare.

Or, more specifically, her crests.

“When I was born, Solitas was divided into many realms, each of which was granted their holdings through culling one of their daughters into bearing the Family Crest. To legitimize, his already _de facto_ rule of the realm, Father imprisoned, and had killed, the Crest-Bearers of the Four Great Realms of the Empire.” 

She pointed to the carvings now visible at her throat, resembling that of a double-headed eagle. “The Crest of the Holdings of Bergreich.” Between her chest, a carving of a slender lion, wielding a torch. “The Crest of the Crown of Bumenhd.” She twisted around, gesturing to her back. A carving of four diamonds, all circling around a crown. “The Electorate of Hastarvia.” Her fingers fell to her navel. An eagle, wielding two blades. “The Kingdom of Aestia.” Then her right calf. A simple hatched cross. “The Confederation of the Sonderbund.”

Ruby’s eyes raked around, each crest intricately carved, glowing as her sight would settle on each. “They’re beautiful.”

Weiss only regarded her with a sorrowful look. “The grafting was… painful. And a singular body is not meant to play host to so many crests. My body started expiring almost immediately.”

“Why you?” Ruby asked. She cursed herself for asking a question so stupid, but she hadn’t any idea what else to say, what words might be right. 

“Vampiric Purebloods are… markedly less fertile than the other races of Remnant. Father sired only two daughters, the older of which was… uncooperative. I played my part in quiet, hoping that one day my opportunity may arise to have Father deposed, and to undo all the wrongdoing that Atlas had unleashed upon the world.”

“But that day would never come. I walked to the table where I was operated on without so much as a suspicion, and the moment Father realized my body was expiring, he had me lulled into an unconscious stasis, imprisoned within the bowels of his Manor, so my body would never expire. That I am here now… means he has no more need of the legitimacy of the crests. Or perhaps my old body has expired, without him noticing.”

Her body submerged again, and Ruby found she missed the sight, without embarrassment.

“Ruby? You’re crying.”

Ruby felt her eyes, finding that they were dripping with her tears, her vision obscuring. “I’m… I don’t know what to say Weiss. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. My fate was not your responsibility.”

“I'm… then I don't know what else to say Weiss."

"Then listen." She was firm with her words, her sudden conviction holding. "Father will never stop until all of Vale is returned under his domain. When he senses your weakness; this will happen, it is not in question. When he senses your weakness as a monarch, he _will_ strike, with only naked expansionism in mind."

"Would you be okay with that?" Ruby asked. Fighting family?"

Weiss did not answer immediately, her firm, emotionless stare being all Ruby needed to recognize her intent. "When that time comes, I will stand by you, no matter the cost. For now, I train, to learn what I never could while I still lived. For now, I ask that you allow me this one thing when we must face each other."

"What is it?" 

"That I be the one to cut the head of Jacques Schnee, and put an end to House Schnee's reign of terror over the people of Remnant."

They left their bath a jumbled mess of emotions. But they were closer, Ruby could feel, from the way she could close her eyes and know, in exact detail, how each breath Weiss took sounded, would sound. Without question, they changed into their cloths in front of the other, the relaxed lull of Ruby's heartbeat drumming in her, their ears.

They doubled back to a small ravine, where it was properly insulated from the elements, and the sun, when it would inevitably rise. There, they set a fire, for Ruby's sake, who was just starting to shiver. And though she had nigh inedible strips of dried jerky to gnaw on, Ruby could not help but stare at the girl who'd just bared so much to her moments prior.

"Now you're the one staring at me." Weiss said. Her words rung in her, striking some sort of a chord, deep in her heart. Weiss had shattered the silence Ruby hadn't even realized had existed between them; they'd trekked the entire way here, just the two of them, without any word, just their bond speaking for them.

"You hadn't needed to do what you did for me." Ruby choked out. 

Weiss's eyes narrowed in the dark, then softened. "You were feeling vulnerable, regarding an imbalance in our relationship. Consider my… vulnerability, an effort to rectify this."

Weiss sat close, enough to see what must have been the pink embarrassment that had formed on her face. Weiss's hand inched closely, a bit too closely; Ruby's breath hitched, and it was all but certain Weiss had heard.

"Do you have any inkling as to why Fate chose to bind us together like this?" Weiss asked.

Ruby's tail, still damp from their bath together, twitched in curiosity. "Not really, no. I don’t understand why the Goddess would ever choose us to be linked together like this.” Ruby said.

“Believe me, I don’t either. I certainly am not finding the prospect of being joined to you enjoyable in any fashion.”

Ruby’s ears fell. “Oh. Uhm…”

Weiss bit her tongue. "Ah, forgive me. I hadn't… meant to imply that being bonded to you in particular was in any way, a bad thing. I just find iur situation at times…. overwhelming."

Ruby yawned, curling up in the makeshift comforter of her laid-down cloak. Though she expected Weiss to leave her be for the day, feeling the Vampire's exhaustion coming through on her end, she could still feel those icy blue eyes staring at her, longingly.

_"I'm… trying to be nicer." Weiss said. "I'm… terribly sorry if old habits pop up from time to time, but I… you're one of the few persons I've ever talked to, who wasn't family, or Father, or on orders from Father. It's… difficult."_

_"It's… very nice when you try." Ruby said._

There was hesitation, then guilt, then resignation. Weiss laid behind her, casting a lithe, protective arm around her form. 

_There was little else she could think to say, so she said the obvious. "I thought you said Vampires don't get cold."_

_Weiss burned with embarrassment, her words slow, though not the least bit careful. "You're… you're so warm. It… reminds me of how it used to feel."_

Ruby turned, to face her, meeting her gaze, soft, unsure, and a little bit afraid. Their lips were so close.

" _I thought it might help me sleep." Weiss said. It was a poor lie._

Locked in her embrace, there was little space to avoid the other. Their thighs brushed once, drawing out the most delicate of gasps from their lips.

_"May… I?" Weiss asked, her breathing heavy._

For a moment, Ruby remembered what Weiss had said to her, some nights ago, that Vampires had no need to breathe. It was a Vestigal function, from their evolutionary origins from the now extinct human race.

In that moment, they understood one another. They leaned in, their lips meeting in a quiet spark that flared into an impassioned furor, clumsy and all. When they had parted, Ruby had need of breath, and for more.

_“Was that alright?” Weiss asked, her voice weak._

This time, Ruby wrapped her arms around her; this time, there would be no pretense, no complication. The air around them suffocating, they cast off the other's clothes without so much as a thought, as they kissed again, and again, and again.

* * *

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/25, 1483_

When Ruby stirred awake once more, with the wretched light of day that crept in the ravine already fading away, eclipsed by nightfall, she let out a hoarse yawn that echoed off of every wall. Her back coiled in a sudden wave of pain, yesterday's bites marking the soft flesh of her clavicle, a brutal reminder of their… excursions, the night prior.

“Were you trying to wake every woodland creature this side of the forest last day?” Weiss asked, her arms curled around her, her soft, perky breasts, bared snowy white, pushing into her back from behind. 

"Only because you kept biting me with those fangs of yours." Ruby laughed, curling deeper into the spoon, her breath hitching as a cold tongue lapped at the outstanding marks. 

"You know… when I first met you, I hadn't any clue on how to talk to you. So I suppose I… resorted to the most familiar means of communication I had available."

"Oh, _Goddess."_ Ruby guffawed. "Please do not attempt this line on me Weiss, I beg of you. I will die from embarrassment."

From behind, she could feel Weiss burning bright red. "Don't laugh at me! I'm… I'm trying to be more open."

Ruby yawned, already drifting off to sleep again. "I know, you dork. I know."

"Oh, no. You are not falling asleep on me, Queen Ruby." It was a most traumatic experience, as Weiss withdrew her arms, ending the embrace, leaving Ruby to weather the cold alone. "Get up, get up. We have yet to find whatever in the Nine Devils Goodwitch sent you here for, and I will be damned if we are forced to camp out for another day, or if she is forced to drag us back to that damned castle in shame."

Ruby could only do the only appropriate option in this confrontation; whine. "But Weiss, it's too early, and I miss you. Come back for snuggles."

There was a groan about to escape from Weiss’s lips, held back only by the mirth of affection Weiss could only feel for her in that moment alone. “Very well. For a moment or two.” Weiss said. They would find their embrace lasting for four, just wanting to cherish the time they had left before heading back to the castle, under Goodwitch’s scrutiny.

When Weiss had finally escaped Ruby’s embrace, and when Ruby could stand and walk without wobbling over from the soreness in between her legs, they ventured out, intending to claim what little moonlight they had left. Ruby’s intuition took them far out, where the terrain had grown rough, and at an incline, at the edge of the Great Emerald Forest, where the rocky bluffs that overlooked the city of Vale began.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way? We’re about to reach the edge of the forest.” Weiss said. 

“Give me a moment.” Ruby said, sniffing out the air. Some thousand or so paces ago, she’d caught the scent of a most enticing aroma; a delicate blend, between notes of earth, and pine. “Something… smells really nice here.”

“We’re supposed to be searching for… something, and I doubt it’s your next meal.” Weiss said.

“Come on Weiss, if you still had a sense of smell, you’d understand how good this smells. I want… I need to chase it.”

Weiss only rolled her eyes. “If you’ve been caught in the trap of some roguish dryad, I will not hesitate to cut her down.”

The scent took them all the way to the peak of the bluffs, where there was a secluded ruin, almost overgrown by whatever foliage could withstand such a height. At the base of the ruin, combed over and overgrown with vines, there was a single black plant, about the size of her hand, already shriveled up and plucked of its leaves, save for one. It’s aura was a faint blackish-purple hue, and it called out to her.

“An old Imperial watchtower, left to ruin.” Weiss said. “Are we to rummage through the ruins, looking for any artifacts of interest?”

Ruby shook her head, taking to the Black Thistle that called out to her, whispering and sowing words of soft, sweet temptation in her ear, promising her what she hadn’t any clue, felt like. Power.

“You don’t see it?” Ruby said, plucking the last Thistle, claiming it for her own. “It smells so nice Weiss.” Ruby glowed, her eyes wet. “I wish you could understand.”

When Ruby held out the Thistle for Weiss to see, the latter only frowned. “Exactly what are you trying to show me? I saw nothing.”

“B-but, it’s right here Weiss.” Ruby said. “Can you really not see?”

Weiss only scowled at her, before frowning, at herself, contemplating the possibilities coming up to mind. "Ruby. Explain to me in clear detail exactly what you see."

Ruby's eyes, sharp and cutting from a Lycanthrope's natural senses, narrowed at the tiny leaf laid bare before her eyes, between her fingers. Though she knew little of the words that would come from her mouth, they came so naturally to her mind, that she did not question it.

“A Black Thistle cherished by a certain domain of Fae, that exists in between both planes of existence, only visible to those fae-touched.” Ruby said, drawling out her words slowly.

Two arms found her, throttling her until she'd been shaken from her trance."It's Cloud-Pine. The source of a Witch's power. Ruby, you found Cloud-Pine."

"That absolute cretin." Weiss said. "She intended for this to be your trial from the very start. She intended for us to lay with one another!"

"Weiss? What do you mean?"

Weiss only laughed gutturally, a contemptuous sound that had given up on maintaining any form of semblance. "Don’t you know of the old stories? Magic makes a woman hormonal. There’s a reason why Maguses are called pinsters and Whores."

Ruby frowned, her tail and ears curling in question. "I don't… understand."

"It means you just needed to lay with a lover's touch to discover who you really were. Ruby, your semblance is meant to be that of a Witch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y’all want, i’d be down to write the full lewd scene in another work
> 
> this chapter reuses concepts and plot points from an older fic of mine, cr, ss. i'd indended for CRSS to evebtually lead into this fic, but writer's block smashed me hard after Jan 2020.


	9. Red Wolf Moon, 1483. (9/10, Blake)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Bloodletting, Brief Descriptions of Butchery, Lewd Fantasies of Blake, Violence, Brief Dysphoria, Implied Lewds
> 
> blake is a gay

_Red Wolf Moon, 11/26, 1483_

“Your blood isn’t an exact match.”

Though she’d tried to hide it, Yang had already been nervous, being suddenly dragged to Goodwitch’s Artifice workshop at a moment’s notice. Not helping was Goodwitch needing to draw half a glass of blood from Yang’s arm, made difficult by the naturally tough skin a half-dragon folk like her possessed.

“Not exact? Is that… bad?” Yang asked, looking at Blake for presumably reassurance, where Goodwitch would give non, too engrossed with the blood through the view of an optical lens to provide any.” It wasn’t as if Blake had any comfort to give either; she watched them from the corner of Goodwitch’s work quarters, a modest little apartment converted to a Magus’s workshop, halfway to the bottom of the hill Vale was built upon, near the Market Plaza.

She could only shrug, more interests in Goodwitch’s research at hand. It concerned mostly texts concerning applications of magic for military and industrial purposes. Mistralian fire grenades, powder weaponry yet to be adopted en masse by the Valean men-at-arms. Much of the ink penned on Goodwitch’s scrolls was still fresh; she must have been preparing for war. Presumably for Vale’s eternal foe; The Atlessian Empire.

Half completed spell scrolls, their spells yet to be completed, presumably to be used for future need. Unpossessed mannequins, with their spirit jars yet to be filled, their features sometimes humanlike, sometimes blank.

“It means that though you are not related to the Queen directly, you are her family.” Goodwitch said, her voice suddenly soft. “Raven. Your mother. Is she doing well?”

“Mom.” Yang said, cold. “Doing okay. Haven’t heard from her in a while. Doing alright, last I saw of her.”

“If you’re presuming you can keep anything from me while I’m interrogating you, you’re very well mistaken.” Goodwitch said, her eyes narrowed, careful with her words. Her and Yang’s mother had a history. To Blake’s guess, romantic. “But I know Raven, well enough. Is she still being foolish, and playing warlord on that backwater island of hers?”

“That’s a way to put it.” Yang said, bitterly.

“I am not surprised.” Goodwitch said. “By virtue of being sharing the same idiot father as Ruby, you are her half-sister. You have my permission to tread on Beacon grounds, but know that if you ever plot or intend harm to Ruby, you will answer to me. Is that understood?”

“Wouldn’t think of it.” Yang said. 

“Excellent.” Goodwitch said. “Of course, since you lack a proper pass to Beacon grounds, you’ll need to have Blake accompany you to and fro for the time being, Torchwick issues me another pass.”

“So, uhm, what do I do?” Yang asked. “Do I just… lounge around until the Queen finds something for me to do?”

Goodwitch regarded her dryly. “If you are offering, I was in need for a gofer to carry my research materials to and fro from the caste grounds at my discretion.”  
  


Yang held back a groan, resigned to having dug her own hole unwittingly. “Always happy to help.” She said, without enthusiasm.

“I knew you had a helper’s spirit within you.” Goodwitch said, her mood difficult to parse out, as always. “Blake. If your friend is going to stay by the Queen’s side, I’ll need you to show her around Beacon Castle.”

Blake’s ears twitched in irritation. “Why not do it yourself?”

“Because I’m not the sort who’s experienced at showing others around, giving them a warm welcome.

Blake bit her tongue, tempted to bite back. “Very well then.”

With her crop, Goodwitch drew out an Illusion’s invocation, casting out a display of her schedule for the day. In a most uncharacteristic fashion, Goodwitch gritted her teeth, very much irritated. On her schedule, was the name _Torchwick,_ the sight of it alone enough to draw some sympathy on Blake’s end.

“Unfortunately, I’m short on time, and won’t be able to continue your interrogation any longer.” Goodwitch said. At the Evoker’s Circle on her gloves, she drew another delicate shape, her fingers glowing with a bright, calming light, and pressed it against the site of the incision wound Goodwitch had cut deep into Yang’s arm. “I have… acquaintances, I am compelled to meet on Ruby’s behalf.”

“Best of luck.” Blake said.

Goodwitch regarded her with irritation, but sighed. “Thank you. Now, I understand you’ve been enjoying snooping around my quarters, but I don’t trust the two of you not to break something important while in my workshop. Out.”

There was an energy of _compulsion_ to her words; Goodwitch had half-charged the enchantment and fired it off to get her meaning through. Not that it mattered either way, curious as she was to the research of Ruby’s supposed mentor, she’d already started down the stairs of her apartment, dragging Yang along with her via her arm.

Outside, there hadn’t been anything to say, but Yang found a way to break the tension. “Sheesh, she’s got a torch up her arse.”

The jest was enough to bring a smile to her lips. “You know, I think she actually liked you.”

Yang’s expression immediately turned to surprise. “You think?”

“A woman that dry could use some excitement in her life.” Blake said, nonplussed. “Give her a few weeks. If bonding with your half-sister ends up not working out for you, at least you’ll have another reason to stay at the castle.”

Just like that, Yang was giggling. “Oh gods. Please no.”

For a moment, Blake smiled, before she caught herself. She bit her lip, suddenly embarrassed she’d let herself go too far in her teasing. And just like that, they were quiet again, Yang looking at her expectedly, confused as to why she’d cut off the conversation.

“Uhm,” Blake said, looking away from her eyes, “I suppose it would be a good time then to take you to Beacon Castle, and show you around-”

“Uh-uh. No, no. _We’re,_ going out, just the two of us.” Yang said, throwing her arm around her, Blake’s tail shooting straight up from the sudden contact, calling forth all her self-restraint to not wiggle out of the embrace.

“Wait, what?” 

“You wanted to spend time together. Well, while I was waiting, I spent some time figuring out what we could do on with our time together.” She said, with that confident grin of hers that was doing things to her stomach Blake was very much uncomfortable with. “Hey. Is there something wrong?” Yang asked, suddenly concerned for her well being.

“I’m fine.” Blake said quickly, shying away from the contact. The look of disappointment Yang gave sunk her heart; it was bitterly frustrating, trying to… get used to Yang’s presence, and by extension, Ruby’s, and Weiss’s.

“You sure? You looked pretty uncomfortable there. Did I do something wrong?”

Blake shook her head. “Overactive instincts. Where to?”

* * *

Standing in the midst of the Market of Saint Ambroise, swamped by the masses of merchantmen and their wares, each engrossed in the business of commerce, caking the cobblestone pavement the market rested on with a layer of dirt that would never be cleared off. Her nerves were on edge, not considering the fact that the Market Square had enacted a _‘soft ban’_ on faunus folk many some years ago (as the nature of business, the presence of Faunus buyers were, _tolerated_ , though the city guard might up and throw one out on the flimsiest of justifications.

There was instead, a strange irony, having to witness the market knee-deep in the muck of it all, the crowds claustrophobic, the stench terrible, with butchers carving their meat in open air view, and livestock left idled in open air pens, obliviously awaiting their fate. She should be amidst the rooftops, where fresh air was and the crowds were not, but Yang just had to drag her here.

“Why are we here?” Blake said miserably, unable to hear herself think. Yang was accosting a seller, who was selling tarts and hotcakes for those hungry. The smell might have been inviting, had it not been surrounded by everything else around it. “If a guard so much as looks at us funny, we’ll be thrown out.”

“Claudia’ll vouch for us!” Yang said, bringing back a tart and a hotcake. Unbelievably, her stomach betrayed her, grumbling at the sight. “Won’t you Claudia?”

This Claudia, in question, was a Wood Elf merchant who was presumably working the stand with her father, and understandably, smitten with Yang. It wasn’t as if she could blame her, with how toned Yang was, and with the innocently sweet look she was now giving her-

“Yes Yang~” Claudia said, face as red as the Imperial Red cherries her tarts were topped with. 

Blake blinked once, then twice, turning away, holding back her embarrassment for later.

“Can we get out of here then? Preferably to somewhere without this miasma. I still don’t understand why you’ve brought us here.” Blake said, biting into the tart offered.

Custard. It was a custard tart.

...She had never had custard before.

“You like food.” Yang said, with that infuriatingly wide smile of hers. Blake gritted her teeth, tensing up in an attempt not to blush. She failed. “Hey, there’s that smile I knew was hiding in there. Anyways, I just wanted us to take a little walk. Hoping a little bit that you could show me around, but if not that’s fine.”

“Itsh… uhm,” her attempt to save face was cut off by her pressing need to devour the damned custard tart, even as Yang ogled her openly. 

“So… I was hoping to try some of it for myself.” Yang said.

Blake froze, looking down at the remains of the custard tart, now caked on her fingers. Whoops. “Uhm… I didn’t-”

Yang guffawed at her state of dishevelment, taking her custard caked hands into her own. “I could just lick the rest off your fingers. Any thoughts?”

She couldn’t think of any other way to clean it. She considered just standing there and letting Yang lick the food off her fingers, the sight of her digits filling her cute mouth enrapturing her with it’s obscenity. Maybe Yang wouldn’t be satisfied with just that. Maybe she’d ask for more, and Blake would be too dumbfounded to protest, letting Yang slip her strong arms around her, take her to some abandoned alleyway, strip off her clothes until she was both intrigued, and disgusted by the form of her stiffened arousal _down there,_ and use her however she wanted. 

The White Fang’s deadliest shadow, left behind to writhe around, fucked in some stinking alleyway somewhere, used by a half-dragonborn who’d gone and seduced her by means of her infuriatingly charming smile, and undeniably gorgeous body alone.

“Blake?”

Lost in her fantasy, Blake shook herself from her stupor by the only means to which she knew. By slapping herself. Hard.

That teasing smirk of hers shifted into a more worried, insufferable look, concerned with her well being. “Blake, what’s wrong?”

She’d wanted to say something, anything, but there really wasn’t a way to spit out _‘My heart belongs to Ilia,’_ without sounding like some sappy romance novella she most definitely did not have buried underneath her sheets back at the castle.

“I need fresh air.” 

So instead, she ripped her hand away and took off, climbing a nearby scaffolding and taking to the rooftops where she could actually breathe and hear herself think for once, where her voice wasn’t just some lost echo, struggling around to find itself. Though she wished Yang hadn’t seen how thoroughly red she’d been, she knew better. And, unfortunately for her sense of self-esteem, Yang, as predicted, was right on her tail.

“Blake?” Yang asked, in that soft voice that could make her heart break. “Are you okay? If I took the teasing too far, I’m really sorry, I, it’s just, i saw the opportunity, and I wasn’t thinking, and I-”

“I just needed some air. You… are infuriating, but you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You’re certain? I-”

“I’m _confused,_ not angry, Yang.” Blake said, sitting against a chimney. What she’d wanted to say was _‘You make me feel feelings that I don’t have the right to feel,’_ but even Blake knew how ridiculous that sounded. 

Yang sat beside her. Her presence was uniquely both comforting, yet discomforting. Hot, yet cold. “Look, if… I get it really, really wrong here, it’s going to be super embarrassing, okay? It’s just… I’ve got a hunch, and I’m not willing to let it go.”

“Huh?” Another blush; she made the mistake of seeing that concerned look on Yang’s face, before stubbornly looking away again. So it had been obvious, Blake’s little infatuation with her, and now, Yang had her all to herself-

Yang cleared her throat, bitterly nervous and clearly not wanting to say whatever she’d been about to say. “I’m… really scared.”

Oh. So it had not been that. “Of?”

“Going back.” Yang said bitterly. “Back to mom.”

“You’re going back?” Blake asked.

“Not like I have a choice if the whole thing with my half-sister doesn’t bear fruit.”

Blake scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. Ruby’s… easily excitable. Kind, yet naive. I know she’ll take a liking to you.”

“I don’t care whether she likes me or not.” Yang said. “Well, I do, but I’m… gods, I’ve screwed it all up. I wasn’t there her entire life. The heck am I going to do, just walk up to her and just tell her I’m her half-sister?”

Blake had half a mind to tell her ‘yes,’ but held back. “Just… be you. After all, I’d doubt she’d hold it against you, considering you were separated from her before she’d even born.” When her words did seemingly little to reassure Yang, Blake swallowed down the medicine, and spoke. “After all, I ended up liking you.”

It was barely there, but there was the faintest outline of a blush on Yang’s face. “Really?”

Blake swallowed. “Really.”

Yang regarded her softly, her heart melting at the sight. _Shit._

“What?”

“It’s pretty cute, seeing you try for my sake.”

Her tail twitched in irritation, having half a mind to drag her from away from her embarrassment. “Was I really that obvious?”

“A little bit.”

“Were you really scared?” Blake grumbled.

“Yes.” 

“Why’d you tell me this.” Blake said, her voice breaking. “All of this.”

She felt Yang’s finger’s reach out, softly grazing Blake’s face, the touch gentle, leaving her wanting. “Because I think you’re scared too. About… not being used to this, dealing with my sister, not knowing what to do half the time. You… kind of strike me as a serious person, so it makes sense that you’re not used to any of this.”

“A little bit.” Blake practically whispered.

“I think it’s more than a little bit, Blake.”

What else was she meant to say? That the White Fang didn’t exactly instruct her on how to live quietly as a normal person?

“Sometimes,” Blake started, not knowing why she was speaking, only knowing that Yang was there, and that she could trust her, and that she was being _so_ weak in front of her right now, “all I want to do is run away. Take the nearest ship to Vacuo when none of it makes sense.”

“Why don’t you?” 

“I already have, once.” Blake said. “I doubt the fates would look kindly on me starting over all again. And now… I can’t leave Sienna behind. As ridiculous as she can be.”

“Well,” Yang laughed, “guess we’re both stuck in this situation together, aren’t we?”

Blake looked at her, a little scared, a little reluctant for what might come next. “I suppose we are.”

Yang’s eyes fell to her lips, and Blake made no effort to run. “Can we help each other then? If we’re both in the same boat, that is.”

“We can.”

There wasn’t much else to feel or say, save for the tension caught between the two of them, waiting to be silenced. So Yang spoke first, leaning forward with her kiss, their lips lingering for just long enough to leave Blake breathless, and gasping for air. 

“You know,” Yang said, “would it be too corny of a line to say that when I first saw you, I thought you were astonishingly beautiful? Stubborn, but astonishingly beautiful.”

Blake rolled her eyes, shutting her up with another heated kiss. Their clothes would follow, not long after.

* * *

  
  


When she came to, she stirred awake from her catnap irritated at the prospect of waking, but still oh-so-satisfied to be stirring awake in the arms of Yang, and without clothes. They spent quite some time in each other’s arms, in the sheets of an old, rickety bed belonging to an old safehouse once perused by the White Fang when they were still around. 

The setting of the sun was soon to start, so very reluctantly, with much teasing from Yang, they dressed, and set off for the rooftops where they could evade the consternation of the city guard, and perhaps enjoy the view of the city bathed in the orange light of the sunset together, just the two of them.

Her thoughts idled, calm even, with Yang’s presence. Against the instincts drilled into her muscle memory all her life, there was something about her that had convinced her to relax for just a spell, even letting her guard down.

And so she hadn’t much of a reaction, if any, when out of the corner of her eyes, about seven rooftops away, she spotted two familiarly masked vagabonds, watching them.

Her blood froze, her dormant instincts lit aflame.

Leaving behind a shadow to fool their voyeurs, she took off, hoping to leave them no time to properly escape before her shadow faded away. She cleared the second rooftop, then the third when she felt the shadow do so, Blake already well on their tail by the time they’d realized what happened, and were off to a running start. Predictably, they did what they could only do by that point; split up, leaving one of them for dead. 

Blake settled for the shorter one, who’d tried leaping down into a nearby alleyway to slip into, and presumably blend into the city crowds. Though he landed on his feet, Blake already had clear sight on him, and a rope dart at the ready before he’d even touched the ground. 

The dart was long enough to wrap around his arm, wounding, and staggering him when he ran. Though he had a spare dagger at hand to cut the rope, he’d already run out of time. From the rooftops, Blake leapt off, landing perfectly on his body, which served as a perfectly fine cushion from the fall, against the protests of those bones of which she’d snapped.

Her mind still racing, Blake looked around, but the bottom of an alleyway was a poor vantage point for mid-range scanning. By now, their other voyeur would have long escaped, and it would be pointless to expend energy chasing a dead trail, risking the escape of her quarry.

So instead, she looked upon her captive, and ripped off his mask with barely concealed furor. “The White Fang are dead.”

He was a Shifter, of Swiftstride blood, with Vacuoan Tribal Marks gracing his face, and white tufts of hair gracing his arms. “So I’m a ghost. What does it concern of you, traitor?”

“I don’t like being watched.” Blake said. “I’ll give you but one chance. Are there more of you? And if so, who is leading you? And why Vale?”

The Shifter laughed, maniacally, at that. “Or what? You’ll slaughter me like you did to the rest of our brothers and sisters?” At the end of his necklace, was a capsule of glass filled with concentrated Pale Tincture; the preferred poison of the White Fang. He reached down to bite at it, only for Blake to grind the capsule into the dirt with the back of her heel. 

“You’ve been left for dead.” Blake said, her voice a ghastly wisp. “Answer truthfully, and I’ll smuggle you out to Vacuo, as long as you never approach me with any intent whatsoever again in your life.”

“You think I would accept any deal from a traitor like you?” The Swiftstride Shifter spoke, growling out his words. 

Blake looked upon him with pity, the same pity that one might give to a near-drowned halfling, caught in the rain and helpless on the flooding streets. “Then languish.” She wrapped her blade’s chain around his limbs, gagging him with a balled up cloth when his mouth proved it necessary.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side.” It was Yang’s voice, having caught up to them. 

Blake frowned, then let out a breath, her adrenaline already receding, leaving little else behind to fill the hole where it had occupied.

Blake frowned, then let out a breath, warm heat filling where her adrenaline had now left emptied. “I’m sorry. I-”

“Hey, hey.” Yang said, taking her hand into hers. “S’alright. You’re not the one who stalked us.”

“There were others.” Blake said. “Watching us from the shadows.”

“Who?” Yang asked. “Who in the gods would be interested in stalking us like that?

“The White Fang.” Blake said, eying the captive assassin with dread. “They’ve returned.”

* * *

  
  


She hadn’t the mood to give Yang a proper tour of Beacon Castle, most of it a ruin, not warranting much introduction other than ‘that ruined hallway over there.’ They’d gone and dumped their captive off on Goodwitch, who’d promptly locked him in the keep under watch, after making sure his health was fine, that he hadn’t any escape implements on him before locking him in. 

“Is it always this exciting, being part of the court and all?” Yang asked, gawking at a row of intricately woven tapestries. She was so easily excited by it all, yet Blake could only faintly remember how it used to be, to gawk with wonder at the halls of the wealthy and the landed.

“With Ruby and Weiss perhaps.” Blake said, showing her to the throne room. They hadn’t been in their rooms, as Blake had predicted, and hadn’t been in the dining hall, nor the Arcanum. 

“Weiss?” Yang asked.

Blake frowned. Right. She wasn’t familiar with her. “Ruby’s familiar. I’ll allow her to introduce herself. Try, not to overwhelm her on the first impression.”

“Hey, I’ll try.” Yang smirked. 

“Might not be enough.” Blake said, already resigned to another one of Weiss’s moods.

Throwing open the the doors to the throne room, they were spotted quickly by a Ruby and Weiss, in the midst of their banter. What was strange about their current predicament was how close they stood to one another, how openly and raucous they were in the other’s presence. Ruby seemed happier, Weiss seemed more open.

Something had changed between the two of them.

Ruby began a dash towards them, tackling and glomping Blake at full speed, all while calling out her name. It might have been embarrassing, had it not been for the damage to her ribs.

“Blake! You’ll never guess it. I found it, I found my semblance! I’m going to become a witch! I can’t wait to fly around, and talk to plants, and cast hexes, and charge enchantments, and brew potions, and-”

For a final confirmation, Blake sniffed her, tracing Weiss’s scent on her sweat.

Yep.  
  


They’d fucked.

“Please Ruby.” Blake said, cradling her chest. “Lay off the honey and treats.”

Ruby pouted, her ears curling, her tail wagging miserably in a feigned attempt eliciting sympathy on her end. “Aww Blake, you aren’t excited at all for me?”

Blake blushed, almost stammering out for words, when she felt Yang’s smile, comforting her from a safe distance away from her half-sister. “I… uhm, I am.” She cleared her throat. Open. Welcoming. She needed to adapt, if she was to survive in her new environment. So she shouted, quite possibly for the first time in her life, her voice louder then it’d ever been. “I mean I am!”

Unfortunately, for all her courage in that moment, it seemed all she’d done is draw several blank stares from those surrounding her.

“Blake… is something wrong?” Weiss asked.

“I… might have been something I’ve eaten.” Blake muttered shyly, wishing she had a book to hide under. “If you’ll excuse me, I think Goodwitch is calling me up to my room so I can hide. Preferably forever.”

Yang clapped, also echoing off the empty halls of their room, thankfully drawing everyone’s attention away from her, nervous though as she must have been to have Ruby’s attention. “We’ll… work on this, okay?”

“Blake? Is this your friend?” Ruby asked, looking Yang up and down.

Yang audibly swallowed. “This is… I’m… uh… I’m your half-sister. Yang.” She said, looking very confused on what she’d needed to do. After a half-arsed attempt at a bow where it was clear she was soon to embarrass herself to everyone in the room more than Blake had, Yang seemingly settled on a simple, “Hey.”

Ruby, very understandably, seemed lost. “Huh?”

* * *

She mustered up the will to tread back up the stairwell leading to the rooms, exhausted enough by having been so open, so willingly, so... intimately to Yang. It was enough that she needed to deal with the embarrassment here and now, by burying herself underneath her sheets, and pretending the world outside did not exist, for but a moment.

Her mind wandered again to Yang. Spending time with her had proved to be a mistake, with that innocent adoration she had for her too much for Blake’s stomach to handle. It was clear what was wrong with Yang; she was lost, lonely, and isolated much like her, but instead of dealing with it on her own, she’d gone and latched onto the first real friend she had, and this attachment was making her _very_ weak in the knees. Fortunately for her, she had Ruby now, so hopefully, she might forget about this bond they had between the two of them, and move on.

Then, there was the matter of Ilia, who Blake could help but feel that she'd betrayed, somehow, by laying with Yang. 

_'Ilia's gone. She's gone, and I owe nothing to her.'_

_'Is that what you really believe, Belladonna?'_

The door to Blake’s room creaked open, the thought of leaving it all behind and running away again, enticing. But unlike before, each time she played the thought out, her stomach would always ache at the end, the prospect of missing Yang’s smile and Ruby’s warmth too much for her to handle. She-

_“Well, well, well. Cute to see you’re at least doing well for yourself.”_

Her blood froze at the voice, cold and abrasive as it always was. As it always had been. There was a brief passing of the warmth that always came when hearing a familiar voice, only to freeze over into cold despair.

He should not be alive. He could not have been alive.

Standing at the windowsill, with that intense look in his eyes, as he always had, was her mentor.

_“Can’t say the same for the rest of us though.”_

Adam Taurus.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will focus on Ruby finally talking to Yang, and Goodwitch deciding letting Ruby off her training wheels and start introducing her to some responsibilities, and choices.
> 
> If you're concerned about Ilia: don't be, I wouldn't have tagged it if it wasn't happening.

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly comments always help me to keep writing, and critiques/criticisms are always welcomed.
> 
> This fic is based off of my desire to date everyone in Summer Rose Court, the Visual Novel, and thus, takes a good amount of lore and inspiration from it.


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